City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

¹³ For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: ¹⁶ for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Colossians 1:13-23 (NASB)

Reflection

Take a minute and re-read the verses above. Dwell on them and reflect on the powerful and almighty God we serve and the eternity of Christ who had no beginning nor will He have an end. Now re-read verses 13-14 at the end. These two verse alone make the rest of the chapter that much more powerful. Jesus delivered us from the domain of darkness, adopted us as sons, and forgave our sins. The most powerful supreme being of the universe wanted to redeem us? Deliver us? Adopt us? Sounds crazy right? And He had to do all of this by suffering and dying on a cross.

Not our suffering mind you. If we received our just suffering, then we would spend eternity in the domain of darkness. There would be no escape from this darkness because God, in His glory, cannot let sin enter His heavenly kingdom.

We get to experience something so precious and clean that should bring us joy each time we get to wake up in the morning. To understand the love that God has for us should be indescribable and surreal. Peter, in writing His letter, wrote about how angels long to understand and look into what we get to experience (1 Peter 1:12). You must have missed reading over these verses without meditating on it. Otherwise it would’ve blown…you…mind. He tells us that angels will never get to understand God’s love in the same way we do. What?? And we take this for granted!

But how much value and care do you put into this?

Application

How much value do you put into God’s love for us? Paul, when having met Jesus face to face and come away blind, realized what he had been missing. He went from persecuting Christians to rejoicing with them in their persecution and died for it. Our love for God should bubble over in our hearts to the point where we have to share it.

Now, one last time, re-read Colossians above and in verse 23, insert your name instead of Paul’s. Are you acting like a minister of Christ to those around you? If not, start now.

Prayer

Father in heaven, help me to become a minister of Your glory and love for us. Let me spread the good news to all who want to hear and even those who may not want to hear. Let me be a light in my family, my community, and my work. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.