Reality is simply an observation vetted with a healthy dose of skepticism, inquisitiveness, and perspective.
Colossians 2:16-18
The thing about reality is that there are so many to pick from.
Not only does everyone have their own version of it, but ours frequently changes based on a dizzying combination of external influences – most of which have their own agenda and try to manipulate the very reality we’re trying to understand.
If you follow the Tiny Words. Big Life. blog, you’ll know that this Blogmeister has written before about reality and how it is very rigid. In the way things are, the truthful reality, nothing is able to penetrate it to change it. As the saying goes, “It is what it is.”
The reality of today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. quote is more of an opinion of things that we see or understand. In that plane of reality, things like skepticism and perspective are driven by our own inquisitiveness to understand. While it’s true that we often lean toward opinions that agree with our imagined reality, being inquisitive with an open mind is the thing that can lead us to a truthful reality.
In today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse, the Apostle Paul is writing to Christians in the town of Colossae, warning them against the teachings of the Gnostics, whose ideas of God, humanity, and salvation were inconsistent with the truthful reality of the Gospel of Christ. They taught that salvation comes from knowledge and was only given to themselves. They believed that, as elite recipients of a spiritual “seed”, they would be able to escape from the evil world and join Christ, a spiritual being that was never in human form.
Obviously, Paul was trying to shape their imagined reality to match the truthful reality of Christ.
So what are we to do with these differing views and definitions of reality?
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Within our physical world, pray to be open-minded and inquisitive to the possibility that things may not be as they seem – that our imagined reality might be influenced by things that do not have our best interests in mind. Within our spirit, pray to not be swayed by things that are inconsistent with God’s truthful reality. Read the Holy Bible because the word of God became flesh through Jesus Christ. In turn, the Holy Spirit will lead you in the ways of God so that you will have the knowledge of God’s plan for the world and understand His perfect will for your life.
Finally, there is no “seed” for salvation other than the one that was planted by God himself, through His son, Jesus Christ, who lived among us and died a sacrificial death for our sins. In Him and through Him, is our only path to eternal life which is the one and only version of truthful reality.
Colossians 2:16-18
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.