Every spring in the Arizona desert, something almost impossible happens. The saguaro blooms. It takes roughly sixty years for the cactus to produce its first flower, and when it finally does, the bloom lasts less than a day. Walking through the desert and stumbling on one felt like finding treasure. The same is true in the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the driest places on earth. Most years it looks exactly like you would expect: cracked, sandy, and lifeless. But about once every seven years, it gets just enough rain, sometimes as little as a teaspoon of water per half acre, and the whole desert floor turns into a carpet of flowers.
Somewhere beneath that sun-scorched, cracked surface, life had been lying dormant the whole time. Untapped. Unhidden. Waiting.
A similar thing happened last year when explorers in the Arctic found a seed buried in ice for over 32,000 years. They planted it, and it grew into a flower that no longer exists anywhere else on the planet. The only living example of that flower on earth came from something frozen and forgotten for tens of thousands of years.
There may not be a more honest picture of what salvation actually is. The image of God is buried deep inside every one of us, underneath our sin nature, our hurts, our wounds, our past, and the cycles we inherited from the people who raised us. But the potential for life is still in there. Scripture describes it in all kinds of ways: you were dead, and now you are alive. You were lost, and now you are found. You were cold, and now warmth has filled your bones. Who you were created to be has been trapped like a seed locked in ice, and God sent Jesus to recover the image of God in you.
That is not just a story about what happened to Jesus. It is your story, too. Resurrection is not only what you believe about Jesus. It is what you believe about yourself. You were buried with him in his death and resurrected to new life with him. This is what the gospel actually does. It does not dull life the way old, tired religion can, where faith becomes one more obligation on the list. It breathes life back in. It moves you from black and white into color. And no matter what you have walked through, if your faith is in Jesus Christ, new life is possible for you.
Remembering What Is Already True
Paul writes his letter to the church in Colossae to remind them of something they were forgetting: what Jesus has already done for them. In chapter 1, he says Jesus “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Notice there is no maybe in that sentence. No if. Paul is not describing a philosophy or a possibility. He is describing what has already happened.
He says it again in chapter 2: when you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave your sins, canceled the debt that stood against you, and took it away by nailing it to the cross. That is not future tense. That is finished business.
So the honest question worth sitting with is simple: do you believe it? Do you believe your sins are forgiven and your debt is canceled? Do you believe Jesus has actually liberated you? Because if you have said yes to Jesus, this is your new reality right now. A new kingdom. New hope. New life, available through the power of his Holy Spirit.
What Does a Resurrected Life Actually Look Like?
Here is where it gets practical. If we believe what Paul says is true, then the natural next question is: what changes? What does a resurrected life actually look like when you are still living an ordinary Tuesday?
Paul answers that with a progression: remember, reject, and receive.
He starts with remembering in Colossians 3. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above.” Two phrases matter here. First, raised with Christ. When Jesus died, your old self died with him. When he rose, a new you began. You are not waiting for a reset. You already have one, every single day. Second, hidden with Christ. You hide what is valuable so nothing can steal it. Your life, your identity, your security, all of it is hidden with Christ right now, and nothing you have done, and nothing anyone else has done to you, can take that away. Together, those two truths produce something the world cannot manufacture: unwavering hope and unwavering confidence, rooted in what Christ has already finished, not in what you can hold together on your own.
Rejecting the Old Way of Living
Then Paul turns and gets specific. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed… anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.” That is strong language on purpose, because this is not a behavior checklist. Paul is not handing you ten rules to avoid. He is describing what life looked like under an old, defeated king, and inviting you to stop living there.
Picture a country finally liberated after years under an oppressive ruler, and yet some of its people keep obeying the old laws out of habit. That was Israel’s story after the exodus. Free from Pharaoh, wandering in the wilderness, and still looking back at Egypt wondering if the old way was easier. Sin works the same way in us. It is not just breaking a rule. It is living as though the old kingdom is still your home, still where you answer to, even after you have already been set free.
That is why Paul’s list is not exhaustive. It is a mirror. Lust says my desires matter most. Greed says my security comes from what I own. Anger says my kingdom has been threatened and I will protect it at all costs. Lying says my image matters more than the truth. Different expressions, same root: everything curved back toward self. And Paul is honest that this way of living has real consequences. But he is not saying it to shame anyone. He is saying it to sober us up and remind us what Jesus actually rescued us from.
Receiving the New Life
Then comes the part of the passage that should feel like good news landing. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… forgive as the Lord forgave you… and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Paul would not ask this of us if it were impossible. It is possible because the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. He goes on: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” That word rule is authority language. It is worth asking honestly what actually rules your day, your emotions, your decisions. Is it the peace of Christ, who has already made peace between you and God and who is not anxious about how anything is going to work out? Or is it something else entirely?
Paul also says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.” To dwell means to take up residence, to make a home. Whatever words take up the most space in your head, whether it is a podcast, a headline, a comparison, or your own inner critic, that is what will shape how anxious, secure, or at peace you feel. And then Paul closes it out: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Let the peace of Christ rule you. Let the word of Christ dwell in you. Let the name of Christ define you, not your past, not your worst moment, not the thing you are replaying in your head right now.
That new name is not something you earn. It is something you receive, the same way an adopted child takes on a new family name and carries it everywhere they go from that point forward. You are not who you used to be. You carry a new identity now, at work, in your relationships, in your neighborhood, wherever you find yourself.
Your Next Step
This week, take a few honest minutes with God and ask:
- What have I been believing is impossible for me, that the gospel says is already possible?
- Where am I still living like I belong to an old kingdom I have already been rescued from?
- What word or voice has taken up the most residence in my heart and mind lately, and is it the word of Christ?
- Is there someone I need to forgive, the way I have been forgiven?
- What would it look like this week to let the peace of Christ actually rule instead of my anxiety, comparison, or need for control?
Join the Journey This Sunday
Whatever season you are walking through, whatever you have believed for a long time is too far gone or too buried to come back to life, the gospel says new life is possible. Not someday, and not once you clean yourself up first, but right now, through Jesus.
Experience Mosaic in person this Sunday at 10:00 AM. Come as you are, grab a coffee at the café, and discover what it means to be raised to new life in Christ. We would love to meet you there.
