Set, let, put!

Today's headline is rather strange, don't you think? Set, let and put. If you know some grammar, you know that these words are verbs, meaning action. Something happens. And we find all three several places in Colossians 3. I'll give you the list of all the sets, lets and puts in the chapter, and then I'll explain my meaning with this.

• Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth (verse 2)
• Put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication ... (verse 5)
• Put off all these: anger, wrath, malice ... (verse 8)
• You have put off the old man ... (verse 9) and you have
• Put on the new man ...(verse10)
• Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering (verse 12)
• Put on love (verse 14)
• Let the peace of God rule in your hearts (verse 15)
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (verse 16)

Nine commands to either set, put or let, that if followed, would make a huge difference in peoples' lives.
However, in most of these verses, the subject is missing. When it says put to death your members ..., who is the subject? Who is going to do the putting to death? The "hidden" subject is YOU. So the first point would be "You set your mind on things above!" It's actually not optional, it's a command. The headline of chapter 3 of Colossians in my Bible, is NOT CARNALITY BUT CHRIST. That means that to live Christlike and not in carnality, I must set, let and put all these things I have mentioned.
However, I have my free will to do so or not; but to reach my highest potential in Christ and to be able to fulfill God's will for my life, I have to be willing to do all the setting, letting and putting that God has laid out for me. It's in my willingness to do His will, and actually doing it, that my progress and victory lies.
So today I determine to set my mind on things above, to put to death my members, to put off anger etc., to put off the old man, to put on the new man, to put on tender mercies etc., to put on love, to let the peace of God rule in my heart and to let the word of Christ dwell in me richly!
I hope you'll do the same.