Meditation: Put Off the Old

Passage
Colossians 3:5-11

Context
Paul is discussing the new order of things when a Christian has given their life to Christ. 

Key Words
Put to death, Worldly, Once walked, put away, put off, put on

Message
Putting to death the things of the flesh seems like a perfectly natural thing for a Christian to do.  However, there is nothing natural about it what so ever.  It is a spiritual discipline through and through.  If you attempt to do as some sort of works based religion you will not succeed (See Romans 7).  With that being said there is work to be done.  Putting these things to death requires your active participation.  The Spirit of God does not merely wipe this away in one sweep.  Though I believe at times we would prefer that He did.  No there is a active putting to death, putting away, and putting off of the ungodly.  This list is a good starting place of things that we ought to put off.  It is time to take the old off and put the new on.  It also seems that this is a process rather than an event.  Interestingly the old self is referred to in the past tense (perhaps Paul is helping us how to see to it that we are putting these off).  However in verse 10 he writes "You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator."  It seems to me that this process is on going to accomplish it's purpose of being renewed into the image of God.