Colossians Four: Distinctively Dissident

 

 

Dissident

adjective

1.  characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards 

2.  disagreeing, especially with a majority

noun

1.      a person who dissents from some established policy [syn: dissenter] 

 

 

In October 2006 a gunman walked into an Amish school and shot dead five children. The callous nature of the actions shocked the world, but not as much as the response of the Amish community. Because the Amish community, not only forgave the killer, but also offered love, care and support to the killers family. Their actions were remarkable, rooted in their deeply held faith and were just one part of how they choose to express their commitment to Christ. The Amish are renowned for living quite an odd lifestyle, curious clothing and facial hair choices, a fondness for the horse and cart and live quite separate from the world around them. Their lives contrast with society in a variety of ways, while we might not feel that all their expressions are ones we would want to adopt, they certainly live out their faith with conviction and sincerity.

 

Throughout Colossians Paul has been laying down the basis for a high contrast lifestyle, one which marks us out from the ways of the society within which we live. This isn’t a case of being different for the sake of being different, but a recognition that when Christ is our priority our lives look and feel a little bit different.

 

In these final remarks from Paul we get a behind the scenes look at a dissident life. We get a peek back stage and can see some of the normal goings on of a bunch of dissident believers.

 

Opportunities:

In v.5 Paul speaks about making the most of the opportunities they have, and it needs to be noticed, that they actually had some opportunities. When we starting living in ways that are out of step with the society around us, opportunities are going to open up. When we begin to live as dissidents, we are living against the grain, and our way get’s noticed and opportunities open up that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. So Paul encourages the Colossian church to “conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders” – basically Paul is saying don’t be stupid, act sensibly, considerately and with graciousness to those outside the church. Paul is telling the Colossians that opportunities will happen – so don’t muck up the opportunities by speaking without grace in your heart and mouth. When we are willing to live as dissidents, opportunities will come our way and we need to be ready for them.

 

Prayer:

In these closing remarks we also see both encouragement and example to live prayerful lives as dissident disciples. The Colossian church is to be alert, not complacent in prayer. Be devoted, not half-hearted in prayer. Be consistent not intermittent in prayer. Praying for others not just ourselves. Praying prayers of thanks not just requests. Prayer is a central, pivotal part of dissident discipleship. It’s all too easy to get caught up in living our lives right, even living as dissidents and end up neglecting prayer. Prayer is an indispensable part of our discipleship. Epaphras gives the example here of wrestling in prayer. Praying with passion is an indicator of a dissident disciple. When was the last time we wrestled in prayer and what is it we are wrestling in prayer about at the moment?

 

Together:

In this section there are a lot of names, Paul is not alone, he is one of many living the dissident way amidst the Roman Empire. Relationships and interactions with one another are key to the life of Christ’s disciples, so actually it would have been mildly odd if Paul didn’t somewhere in one of his letters have lots of personal bits and bobs to cover. And look at how he refers to the folks named in this passage,  “beloved brother”, “a fellow prisoner”, “co-workers”, “brothers and sisters”. These are Paul’s contemporaries, his co-workers in Christ. And from his descriptions he clearly values, trusts them and respects them. Even Onesimus the runaway slave is valued and trusted. Paul’s dissident ways are clearly evident in his handling of Onesimus as he refuses to treat him how his society would normally treat runaway slaves. Not only do you need relationships in which you can live out a dissident relating, but also you need the support, prayers and encouragement. Living out dissident discipleship is not easy but it’s a whole lot easier together. So let’s share our experiences, our hard times and our good times. Let us be open to working out a dissident lifestyle together.

 

Opposition:

Twice in this last section Paul mentions where he is, at the beginning and the end, he reminds the Colossian church that he is in prison. Certainly Paul wants prayer; he knows the importance of prayer for sustaining and helping him endure.

But he also doesn’t want them to forget what faces a dissident disciple in the Roman Empire.

Are we willing to stand for Christ and his way even when it isn’t comfortable? Even when it alienates us from those we thought were our friends? When it costs us heavily financially and impacts our lifestyle? When it means we stand out because we refuse to conform to the norms of society? Colossians paints quite a strong picture of what discipleship looks like, it seems uncompromising, hard, radical, life changing, but that’s because it is. Inevitably when you start living out a different way, you unsettle the normative ways of society, which doesn’t make you popular with those who profit from the way society is. So backlash isn’t surprising. Dissident Discipleship is not easy discipleship.

 

 

Final Thought:

Is our discipleship distinctively dissident? Are our lives defined by Christ rather than the world in which we live? It’s not an easy call; we’re not going to get it right over night. It’s a journey, one that we need to travel together, but all journey’s start with the first step…..are we willing to take it?

 

 

 

Exploring Further:

These books do not provide the answers, solutions or magic recipes. But they will help you to explore the ideas we’ve been thinking about in this series in Colossians:

 

  • “Colossians re:mixed”  Walsh and Keesmaat (Paternoster 2004)
    • The book which most shaped this series
  • “Dissident Discipleship”  David Augsburger (BrazoPress 2006)
    • You didn’t think the title was original did you!!  Challenging and thought provoking book
  • “The Simple Way”  Shane Claiborne (Zondervan 2006)
    • One guys journey of dissident discipleship