Colored Ice

Read Colossians 5.1-17

I have a problem at home. I tend to get my glasses mixed up with my mom’s because we use one from the same set. So after we get new glasses for the next few days, we end up using the other’s, and I’m essentially swapping spit with my mom.

Thanks Kentucky.

But to fix this problem I started using the cups that my dad uses, just plain plastic cups, all different colors. I’m trying to be healthier so now I drink nothing but water, milk, and coffee. A few days ago I was drinking water out of my cup, green this time, and I look in the cup while quenching my thirst. We had the kitchen light on, and the way the light hit the cup the ice in the cup looked green.

“Well that’s weird,” I thought, “why is the ice green?”

Now I’m handled physics fairly well in high school, but one thing I could never wrap my brain around was light and color. Made no sense to me. Same with the ice in the cup. Why is it green?

I didn’t think much about it for a few days, until I did a random flip in the Bible and landed at Colossians 3, surprisingly titled: Put on the New Self.

In this passage Paul writes a couple lists. Things to kill (take off), and things to put on.

When we come into Christ, we are to take off  the things that separate us from him, or sin. The sexual immorality, the anger, the gossip, the lies, the idolatry are all supposed to be cast off of us, and handed to Christ. In their place we are supposed to put on the characteristics of Christ: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love.

When we come into Christ we shed the old self, having it washed away in baptism, having it burned away when we come to God the consuming fire. And in its place we put on Christ, the New Self.

We are much like that ice in the cup, different looking than what we were before because of what we have around us.

But there is a difference between us and the ice as well.

We are New Creations, putting on the New Self.

Instead of looking like green ice in our cup, we are green ice always.