Colossians 1:11-20 (NRSV)
Read Colossians 1:11-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
Verse 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. Verse 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, Verse 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Verse 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; Verse 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and for him. Verse 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Verse 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. Verse 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, Verse 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Devotion
I'm a little in awe of this scripture passage. This is the wondrous story of Christ Jesus. Called Immanuel, "God with us," at his birth, this is the one who brings the full divinity to earth in his own person. "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell."
The writer of Colossians, possibly the Apostle Paul writing from prison, wants us to know that as followers of Jesus, we have been rescued from evil and all its powers. We have received the forgiveness of all our sins and are brought over from death to life in his eternal reign. This is why we can be strong and rest in God's peace in the face of all the terrors of this world and of our own failings. We are fully reconciled to God by Christ's self-offering. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
O God, words fail us when we begin to comprehend how great is your love and how amazing is what you have done for us. Until we see you face to face, keep us strong in hope and full of gratitude through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.