Captives…

It’s interesting how God speaks sometimes… He’ll say something clearly though Scripture, or He’ll whisper to us in prayer… sometimes He even speaks to us through situations. Rarely, at least in my experience, has it been through dreams, even though we find it happening all throughout the Bible.

I seem to have had that experience last night.

I can’t recall everything (nor do I think it really all that important anyway), but at its most basic level, the recurring theme was that I found myself trying to find a quiet place to sit down and read my Bible. Everytime I’d get started, something different would come along and cause an interruption. Children wanting to talk or play… adults with needs… even off-the-wall things I can’t exactly recall now. Regardless, the interruptions kept me from getting to the text. I distinctly remember, though, that I was looking at the book of Colossians, and that I was complete with chapter one, but unable to get to two.

You can imagine my curiosity this morning. I wasn’t sure what to expect… perhaps some divine revelation… perhaps something I needed to hear… perhaps something someone else needed to hear. The thought that God might be trying to speak to me was exciting, to say the least.

And then doubts crept in. I must be nuts… surely it was just last night’s dinner, or perhaps simply the immense number of things I’ve had running around in my head making me restless.

I read it anyway, and found this:

Colossians 2:8
⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Generally, this verse refers to guarding oneself against heresy… against giving in to beliefs promoted by godless men, forsaking the knowledge of Christ for something less.

It’s also used as a warning against worldliness… reminding us to forsake those things not of Christ, and cling wholly to Him.

I wonder, though, if we focus on the wrong portion of this verse, neglecting the thought of being captive?

Do we consider the following often enough?
— Am I a captive?
— What am I captive to?
— Is what captivates me something that honors God?
— Am I truly captivated by Jesus?

They’re humbling questions, without a doubt. I’m not certain that any of us can answer them in complete honesty and say we’re satisfied with what we find.

I guess the point is simply this… Scripture makes quite clear that if we’re to be captive, we are to be captive to Christ… slaves of Christ… servants of the Most High God. Somehow, by such, we experience freedom unlike anything we can imagine here on earth.