Getting a transfer
This week's verses are Colossians 1:13-14:
Paul here is describing God. There's a lot in these verses. Grace, love and power are in them. They're the short answer to many long questions.
God delivered us from the power of darkness. We are no longer cursed. The devil no longer has authority to torment us for our sins. Theologians argue endlessly over things like whether a Christian can be possessed by demons or not, but the best answer is "They don't have to be." God delivers us from the powers of darkness. It's like a kind of spiritual hostage rescue. He comes in with overwhelming power and sets us free.
He transfers us to the kingdom of the Son he loves. It's like heaven's green card lottery, but fixed by the fact that we know the son of the guy in charge who approves the requests. Spiritually, we're relocated from a place of poverty, torment, and ineffectiveness to a place of prosperity, love, and power. Imagine working at a corporation where your department is full of bickering and backstabbing and constant fear of being laid off, and then you're transferred to a different department where none of that is happening, and where you can reach your full potential.
We've been transferred to the kingdom of the Son he loves. It's a favoured place. Going back to the company analogy, imagine the department full of bickering and strife was run by a guy trying to take over the company from the CEO, and the nice department was run by the CEO's well-respected son. Which has better long term prospects for you? Which is likely to get the funding and contact with the CEO? One minute you're in a place being run by a backstabber who is going to get fired, maybe even sent to jail, and the next you're in a place of love and upward mobility. We're not in Satan's kingdom anymore. We're in the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ unyieldingly at its head.
We have redemption in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of our sins. In our corporate analogy, imagine that Human Resources was in league with the backstabber, the devil incarnate. All accusations and slip-ups, true or imagined, end up in your file forever. You're never promoted or given a raise or a bonus because there's always something in your file. But when you get transferred, all of that is shredded and deleted, and you start fresh. If you slip up, you're forgiven in love and given the resources you need to do a better job next time. Instead of being doomed to being a lifelong failure, you're given a fresh start and a path to success. What a huge difference!
Redemption and forgiveness of sins is a real game changer. Instead of being permanently scarred and marked by our failures, we get to start again. It's like a moral version of eternal life, in that every time our perfection "dies," it gets reborn by the forgiveness of our sins Jesus bought for us. Our perfection can't "die" in this new kingdom!
Grace offers endless recharges. God's power is endless. We are transferred in love, by love, to the love of God that brings those things to us. It's funny how many questions disappear after that realisation.
He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Paul here is describing God. There's a lot in these verses. Grace, love and power are in them. They're the short answer to many long questions.
God delivered us from the power of darkness. We are no longer cursed. The devil no longer has authority to torment us for our sins. Theologians argue endlessly over things like whether a Christian can be possessed by demons or not, but the best answer is "They don't have to be." God delivers us from the powers of darkness. It's like a kind of spiritual hostage rescue. He comes in with overwhelming power and sets us free.
He transfers us to the kingdom of the Son he loves. It's like heaven's green card lottery, but fixed by the fact that we know the son of the guy in charge who approves the requests. Spiritually, we're relocated from a place of poverty, torment, and ineffectiveness to a place of prosperity, love, and power. Imagine working at a corporation where your department is full of bickering and backstabbing and constant fear of being laid off, and then you're transferred to a different department where none of that is happening, and where you can reach your full potential.
We've been transferred to the kingdom of the Son he loves. It's a favoured place. Going back to the company analogy, imagine the department full of bickering and strife was run by a guy trying to take over the company from the CEO, and the nice department was run by the CEO's well-respected son. Which has better long term prospects for you? Which is likely to get the funding and contact with the CEO? One minute you're in a place being run by a backstabber who is going to get fired, maybe even sent to jail, and the next you're in a place of love and upward mobility. We're not in Satan's kingdom anymore. We're in the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ unyieldingly at its head.
We have redemption in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of our sins. In our corporate analogy, imagine that Human Resources was in league with the backstabber, the devil incarnate. All accusations and slip-ups, true or imagined, end up in your file forever. You're never promoted or given a raise or a bonus because there's always something in your file. But when you get transferred, all of that is shredded and deleted, and you start fresh. If you slip up, you're forgiven in love and given the resources you need to do a better job next time. Instead of being doomed to being a lifelong failure, you're given a fresh start and a path to success. What a huge difference!
Redemption and forgiveness of sins is a real game changer. Instead of being permanently scarred and marked by our failures, we get to start again. It's like a moral version of eternal life, in that every time our perfection "dies," it gets reborn by the forgiveness of our sins Jesus bought for us. Our perfection can't "die" in this new kingdom!
Grace offers endless recharges. God's power is endless. We are transferred in love, by love, to the love of God that brings those things to us. It's funny how many questions disappear after that realisation.
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