Fog is a fact of life for anyone who lives near the sea. Ships are especially vulnerable. When warm air evaporates water while over land, this moisture-laden air can be drawn over the water, condensing around salt particles dispersed throughout the cooler sea air.
The ships become blinded by fog.
However, even though they cannot see, the ships still have a method of safe passage through the wall of blindness. They can pull out a VHF radio, a good set of ears, a compass, a radar reflector, a chart, and a horn.
The troubles of life often blind us to the truths of the spiritual world. Confusion rolls in like fog across the sea. One moment we are sure we know just where we’re going, and we feel we have everything under control. Then, a wall of fog hits us, and we are sailing blind.
The believers at Colosse were sailing blind. False teachers were leading them astray. Fog had them surrounded. Then a voice called to them in the guise of an epistle written by a man they’d never met, an apostle named Paul.
Paul didn’t plant the church at Colosse. They didn’t know him personally. However, Paul reached out to them through the fog that had engulfed them, and he offered them a way through the blindness.
Colossians 2:1-3 lists the tools God gives us to ensure our safe passage through the fog:
Tool #1 – A VHF Radio
We cannot see the person at the other end of the radio. Yet, we have to depend on his qualifications and that he will not lead us astray. That voice coming over the radio reaches through the fog and guides us to the other side.
Paul says to the believers at Colosse, “You have not seen my face in the flesh.” However, he was their VHF radio, calling to them through the fog, giving them directions around their obstacles.
Tool #2 – A Good Set of Ears
It is frightening to not be able to see where we are headed. Our daughter goes off to college, just as the stock market drops. We choose early retirement, only to find an unexpected lump beneath our skin. We take a chance on love, but the bubble bursts, and we are devastated.
Paul wishes that the hearts of those in Colosse might be comforted. How? By listening to the truth that comes from the Father. In this case, that truth is found in Paul’s missive to the Colossians, written from his cell in Rome.
Tool #3 – A Compass
A good compass always points to true north. If the needle swings any other direction, and we follow its leading, we will become lost. A ship sailing in the fog cannot trust a compass that does not tell the true direction it needs to travel.
What is our compass in Christ? It is the love that ties the church together. Paul affirms this, for he tells the Colossians to be knit together with one another in love. If they follow that love, they will never be lost, no matter what obscures their vision.
Tool #4 – A Radar Reflector
When a ship is entombed in fog, other ships have to know where it is. Radar is blind if nothing reflects the signals back. As Christians, we must know the truth, so that when others see us, we can ensure that Christ is reflected back to them.
The believers at Colosse were being led astray. Paul wished for them to have a full understanding of the cross, for only then could they have the assurance that their walk was pleasing to God. Only then could they reflect Christ to the world.
Tool #5 – A Chart
A nautical chart shows underwater obstacles that might sink our ship. When we know the obstacles that are in our way, we can better avoid the devastation.
Our chart is found in our understanding of the mystery of God, revealed by both the Father and the Christ. When we see the truths of the divine, the fog won’t matter, because God has already ordered our steps. We only have to follow the paths he has charted.
Tool #6 – A Horn
A ship sailing in fog announces its presence loudly and clearly. There must be no doubt it is there. For land-based foghorns, patterns reveal which horn is sounding using different pitches and frequency, telling where the horn is located.
Our horn is heard in our actions, love, and empathy for others. When the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, hidden within our God, are revealed to us, we will shout our love to others, because we won’t have any other choice.
The church at Colosse was sailing through the fog of false teachings. Paul knew they needed directions, or else they would run aground and founder. From his prison cell, he gave them the guidance they needed.
We can find our spiritual direction in Christ, no matter how thick the fog that obscures our view of the future. When we listen to him, he will faithfully guide us home.
Jesus is never lost. When we follow him, we will always survive the storm.
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Code: FGO.B.06.14.vp