Aligning

Paul wrote the following to the church in Colossae, “For he (The Father) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” (1.13). As you would expect when one is rescued and brought into a new kingdom, there is a time of adjustment or alignment. Alignment means letting go of some old beliefs, values and practices and adopting some new beliefs, values and practices. Without this alignment we will never be healthy in our relationship with God.

In this relationship with God we are not equals. In our time before being brought into the kingdom of God, we were our own boss. We may not have phrased it that way, but in essence we decided what we were going to do or not do. There were definitely influences such as our friends, our workplace environment, our parents, social media, government etc. But, in the end, most people have a sense that they are their own boss. Then we were rescued and brought into a different kingdom with an established ruler, values and actions that are consistent with this new kingdom.

The process of aligning with all that is important in this new kingdom begins when someone is born again. This process continues until a person becomes a spiritual parent. Alignment is a wrestling match that involves switching from our old way of living to align ourselves with the values, beliefs and practices of this new king and his kingdom.

God’s Spirit will lead us in aligning and he will use the Bible, other believers, circumstances and hardship to help us become healthy.

Alignment needs to occur in the following areas if we are to be healthy.

  1. There is one God, and I am not him.

  2. There is a new covenant God enters into with us when we are born again. Learning what this new covenant is and aligning my life with it is crucial. (Luke 22.20)

  3. There is a new command that guides all of my actions and attitudes going forward: “Love one another.” (John 13.34)

  4. There is a process of discerning what to let go of and what to keep (putting off and putting on) in terms of beliefs, attitudes, and actions. (Ephesians 4.22-24)

  5. We have an enemy, but God has made provisions for us to stand firm. (Ephesians 6.10-20; 1 Peter 5.8-9)

  6. Unity under the leadership of Jesus Christ has begun and will reach its culmination when Jesus Christ comes back to make all things new.

    1. Unity under Jesus’ authority.

    2. Unity in our individual character.

    3. Unity in the one people of God.

    4. Unity in our marriages.

    5. Unity in our families.

    6. Unity with our purpose as God’s people.

  7. God entrusts us with resources and we must learn to align the stewardship of those resources with what God has decided is important.

  8. Without God and His leadership, correction, encouragement, and gifting, this process would be impossible. (Galatians 5.25)

Alignment leads to fruitfulness and fulfillment in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ!