She came with her mom to the Wednesday night prayer meeting, every week. She was twelve, the youngest in the room, but she liked to pray and she liked the prayers of the people who came. Except one man. He prayed long every week, and every week finished with, "And now, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of our lives. Amen."
At long last, she could take no more. The man, as always, prayed what he always prayed, finishing, as expected, with "And now, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of our lives." But before he could say "Amen," she jumped to her feet and shouted, "Don't do it, Lord! Kill the spider!"
That's exactly what Paul is telling the Christians at Colossae, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Colossians 3:1-2); the cobwebs, "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk" (Colossians 3:5, 8). There is a God-sized life you were created to live, to "have life and have it abundantly," said Jesus (John 10:10), overflowing, heavenly, eternal. Quit cleaning the cobwebs; kill the spider. "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you" (Colossians 3:5).
Daily Prayer
Heavenly Father, You are holy and good. Your Son has taken the penalty of my sin and given me his righteousness. Thank You so much!
May I rid myself of the desires, the thoughts, the habits of old. May I put them to death. Help me kill them. I don't want to think and act the way I used to, but rather, to live the life You created me to live. A life of service and love, of goodness and peace, that gives You glory and pleasure.
Amen
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