Colossians 1:21-22

Colossians 1:21-22

 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

 

Take a moment to pause and give thought to what it means to be alienated and hostile towards another. If we are alienated, we are estranged, we are separated, and we are withdrawn. And to be hostile means we are antagonistic, unfriendly, and unreceptive. In summary, we are not in good standing with the other person. In fact, we are likely completely at odds with them. As believers, we find peace each day in knowing that we have a good relationship with God…that God is on our side and that we can turn to him in times of need. Now imagine if we didn’t…imagine if we stood “alienated and hostile” before God. Imagine if there was this massive void between us and God because of OUR mistakes…because we CHOSE to be antagonistic, unfriendly and unreceptive to him. Imagine if God looked at us as the miserably sinful, dirty, messed up creatures that we are…and that God had no time for our petty requests and cries for help. Imagine if there was true hostility between us and God. All we have to do is open up the Old Testament for chilling examples of how God handled those who were hostile towards him. Remember the famous flood that involved Noah? God doesn’t deal kindly with those that are hostile towards him. Thankfully, God chose to be incredibly merciful through his Son. Christ was “the image of the invisible God” (v15)…and “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (v19)…and thankfully “through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (v20). Through Christ, we receive completely underserved and unjustified mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Through faith in Christ, we are no longer alienated and we are no longer seen as hostile. Instead, we are presented as holy and blameless before God. It’s completely irrational and almost laughable as we stand fully guilty, yet we are presented as completely innocent. Today, may we keep this fresh in our minds when we choose to interact with others…may we love as we are loved….not because we have to somehow earn God’s grace (an impossible task and one already achieved by Christ), but rather as a sign of gratitude and love towards the God that literally gave us EVERYTHING through his Son. To God alone be the glory!