From "Christianity or Christ?" by Milt Rodriguez.
Colossians 2:16-17 - Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The gospel preached to the Colossians was the reality of a Person. But, they fell into chasing shadows. They got into shadows like Jewish law, holy days, the Sabbath and so on in the same way that we get into sermons, teachings, methods, structures, movements and programs. And these things became their new religion of shadows. It is the religion the world identifies with by the name “Christianity.”
Webster defines Christianity as “the religion of Christians, or the system of doctrines and precepts taught by Christ; conformity to the laws and precepts of the Christian religion.” This is the system of Christianity that man has created with his shadows. Under this definition, Paul clearly would have rejected the religion of Christianity in favor of the reality of Christ. This is not to say he would reject the teachings of Christ, just that the teachings would lead to a Person, which is the reality.
Religions point to a teaching, a concept, a philosophy, a method, or a program to help you reach spirituality. Jesus didn’t start a religion. He pointed people to a Person. The fullness of God is only found in one place. That place is inside of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:19) Nothing less will ever satisfy the human heart. Yet, we continue to settle for lesser things. We continue to live in the shadows instead of the substance.
As
blogger/author Milt Rodriguez points out in his post Christianity or Christ?,
“People look in the sky at night and see that glowing orb and call it the
“moon”. But actually, that’s only the shadow of the moon. The REAL moon is
Jesus Christ. He is the perfect reflection of His Father. He said, “I am the
true (real) Vine. Those things that you see across the landscape with grapes
hanging on them are only a shadow of the real thing. Recognize the things for what they are –
merely shadows. And start recognizing Christ for who He is – the one Reality!”
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