Colossians 2:16-19 (NIV)
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. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

There were actually two different factions pulling at the Christians of Paul’s day, trying to draw them aside after their own particular “brand” of the faith. Their ultimate goal was not to help people grow in their faith and maturity, but to enhance their own reputation and following, validating their own theology or experience.

The first, of course, were the Judaizers. These people made a great show of carefully observing all the legal requirements of the law, including all Jewish holidays, feasts, and calendars. They were also scrupulous in observing all the rabbinical Sabbath rules and restrictions. And they taught that these were required of Christians as well, because Jesus had come as the Jewish Messiah. That meant, by extension, that for a gentile to be saved they had to first become a ritually observant Jew.

Paul understood from Jesus’ own lips that the ritual parts of the law (not the moral requirements, which are a reflection of God’s character) were “shadows” of the Kingdom of God. These were fulfilled by Jesus when he appeared, and were no longer necessary for a relationship with God, nor did they necessarily enhance that relationship.

The second faction was the mystics. These people elevated experience over obedience, and even over truth. They were big into visions, ecstatic experiences, and angelic visitations, and they were ever seeking higher and stronger experiences of heavenly things.

But Paul points out that the seeking of mystical experiences to the exclusion of all else actually elevates those experiences above God, and above obedience to God. Thus that emphasis ends up severing their connection to Jesus Himself by turning their hearts away from what He had achieved by His incarnation, His sinless life, His death, His resurrection and ascension, and His pouring out of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of God’s people, and instead focusing on what they themselves have seen and done.

Jesus is the head of the body of Christ, and the way to grow as a Christian is not by legalistic observances of rabbinical rules or by ecstatic visions, but by simply remaining vitally attached to him, seeking his face, and simply obeying His commands in His power. Those who follow the path of relationship and obedience end up miles ahead on the road to maturity than those who seek other, ultimately man-made paths.

Father, it really is sometimes easy to get pulled aside onto side roads and dead ends that promise a richer experience, or that have an appearance of deep spirituality because of the sheer number of rules that have to be internalized and obeyed. By comparison, simple faith, simple devotion, and simple moment-by-moment obedience can seem pretty dull. But, Lord, you have made following you simple (not necessarily easy!), so that “the least of these” can come in and live in your Kingdom. Thank you! Amen.