April 6th 2020: Colossians 1:18-23

Colossians 1:18-23 New International Version (NIV)

18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleasedto have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.’

Listen to Colossians 1 here: Colossians 1 Audio

What we need at a time like this is words fit for a time such as this. What we need at a time like this is a Leader, a King, a Saviour, a Friend, fit for such a time as this. There’s not a prince, president or prime minister who could come close to the goodness of Jesus ‘for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things’. Wait a minute, I knew Jesus was great, but all the fullness of God, every part of God, all the bits I understand and all the bits I don’t understand, the bits that will stay beyond my comprehension for the whole of my life, all of it dwelt in Jesus? That’s mad. And  that’s not even all of it is it. Through Jesus (notice, not through Haydon, or you, whatever your name may be) everything is brought back together with God, whether it’s on Earth, in Heaven, or anywhere else. That’s even madder, isn’t it?

We can be presented holy and without blameless and accusation to God. That surely can’t be right. Even the most perfect-seeming of us is blamed for something, or accused of something, even if it’s only by us ourselves. More likely, we’re all the subject of blame and accusation, and rightly so. And you, Paul, writing this so that the Church can hear, having already said that Jesus is the head of it all and is the one who holds it all together, you’re saying that we can be free. We must have to do a huge amount for this freedom, surely?

We have to continue in the faith, stand firm, trust God and hold to the hope of the good news of Jesus Christ. 

In one way really easy. At least for those of us who live in societies where we are not persecuted or prosecuted for following Jesus, but in another way a real challenge. What is the good news of Jesus Christ? Amongst other things, ‘no man knows greater love than to lay down his life for his friends’ or, ‘if you want to be my disciple, deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me’, or again, ‘in this world you will have trouble’, not ‘you might have trouble’, but ‘you will have trouble’, ‘“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.””

Maybe it’s not so easy after all.

But in the end Jesus, who holds all things together and brought us the possibility of peace is the one who presents us to God. There is hope. Hope in Jesus. Hope is Jesus.

Something to Do

Think about your hopes for the next few weeks and months. What will you do to achieve them?

Something to Pray

Pray for those who are losing hope today, that they would know comfort. Pray that someone would come to mind for you to get in touch with today.

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