Hold Fast the Head (Col. 2:18-19)

Hold Fast the Head (Col. 2:18-19)

       
Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese wise man, said that water is a good example of self-humility. He says in his book, Tao Te Ching(道德經, 66章):

    "The reason why the River and the Sea are able to be king of the hundred valleys
    is that they excel in taking the lower position. Hence they are able to be king of
    the hundred valleys.
    Therefore, desiring to rule over the people, One must in one's words humble
    oneself before them; And, desiring to lead the people, one must, in one's person,
    follow behind them.
    Therefore, the sage takes his place over the people yet is no burden;
    yet causes no obstruction.
    That is why the empire supports him joyfully and never tires of doing so.
    It is because he does not contend that no one in the empire is in a position to
    contend with him."

Water does not stay at a high place although you put it there but has a tendency to flow down to a lower place. This tendency is not artificial or pretentious on purpose but natural and unchangeable.
Water does not insist its own opinions and it does not have its own shape. Its shape may be changed according to a container which contains it.
Water looks to be weak, but it has a power which cuts a mountain and breaks a solid rock.

Lao Tzu's teaching on water and its humility is for all people who want to get along well with other people. His teaching on humility is also found in the Bible.
Jesus says in Matthew 23:12: "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
The tendency of water to stay at a lower place is also needed for all believers who want to exalt their Lord.
Christians should learn from water its humility in a natural way.

Many Christians know that they should humble themselves to please God.
But, their humility is often unnatural. They are easily detected as made-up humilities. Although they pretend to be humble but other people feel that they are not humble. It is because they are humble only outside but not inside.

Sometimes, many Christians do not know in what things they should humble themselves and in what other things they don't have to humble themselves.
Some people think that saying that they cannot do anything is a humble attitude.
So they easily say "I cannot do it" when they are asked to do a certain service for the church, or say "I cannot accept it" when they are asked to accept an office of a deacon or of an elder. But it is not humbleness. As far as your service or stewardship is concerned, you need to be more active and positive, saying, "Yes, I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me" This is not an arrogant attitude, because you say so not leaning on yourself but leaning on Christ.
When you are asked whether you have a conviction of salvation, you may think that a humble answer is to say "I am not sure. Am I God? How do I know whether I am saved or not? I will know when I die."
But this is not a humble answer. As far as your salvation is concerned, you need to be bold, saying, "Yes, I am saved by the grace of my Lord."
Biblical humility is not to lean on your own ability and knowledge but to lean on the power and wisdom that are from God.

In Paul's era, some people worshiped angels thinking that they could not worship God directly. They insisted that it was arrogant for anyone to come closer to God to worship Him.
So, instead of worshiping God directly, they wanted to worship God via worshiping angels who, they thought, were mediators between God and themselves.
They insisted that they were doing this because they were humble. But, Paul condemns them that their insisting of self-humility is not true but false.
As a matter of fact, they were proud of their visions and their unspiritual minds puffed them up with idle notions. Besides, they tempted other Christians to participate in what they were doing.

Paul warns Christians in Colosse, "Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize (v. 18)."

God does not want to place an angel between Himself and people. The only mediator is Jesus Christ. Any angel has not done anything for human salvation. Angels are only messengers of God.
Paul tells us that Christians' false humility or show-off results when they do not hold fast the Head, "from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow (v. 19)."

What we need to come closer to God and to worship Him is not to hold fast angels or anything else but to hold fast the Head, that is, Christ. Only Jesus Christ is our power and wisdom. He is the Head of the Church.
Paul in Ephesians 1:22-23 says: "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be Head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

Why should we hold fast the Head of the Church, Christ?
It's because each of us is part of His body.
It's because by holding fast Christ the Head we can have his humility in us.
It's because, otherwise, we may be misled in a wrong direction or in a risky path.
It's because, otherwise, we cannot bear much fruit of the Spirit. Jesus in John 15:5 says to his disciples: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

We all must hold fast the Head.
How can we hold fast the Head?
To do this means to acknowledge that Christ alone is Head. It means absolute obedience to His authority. Paul in Ephesians 4:15-16 says: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
You, as the members of the body of Christ, are fitly framed and knit together because all hold fast the Head and live out the life of the body. This does not suggest that God wants you to pay attention only to the one who sits next to you, but that He preeminently wants you to have a proper relationship with the Lord. If your relationship with the Head is proper, your relationship with other body members will also be proper.
In the physical body, if the left hand should be hurt, it will be the head which orders the right hand to help. The right hand makes no direct move by itself. The inter-relatedness of its members comes in every instance through the Head.
When one member goes to help a brother, if he holds fast the Head it is for the Lord's sake and not for the sake of mere human friendship. By holding fast the Head we will be spared from maintaining a direct relationship with anyone, and thus we will not harbor any special affinity towards a few. To do otherwise will bring in division or party spirit.

Have you ever said to the Lord: "O Lord, You are my Head. I have no right to decide anything, nor have I authority to make any choice of my own. May You deliver me from trying to be head as well as deliver me from other people who set themselves up as head."
Each one of us needs to learn how to accept the command of God: Christ is Head, and therefore no one can follow his own will as a Christian.
Let us hold fast the Head, that is, Christ, through whom we learn true humility and gain the power and wisdom of God.