"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for 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. He himself is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He 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. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and 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. And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before Him— provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel." -Colossians 1:15-23
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Change is in the air.
Social media everywhere is on a frenzy regarding all of the dramatic changes that our world is encountering. Elections. Politics. Riots. Racism. Destruction. Social Injustice. Brokenness.
If we were to keep tally, it would seem like every noted change airs on the opposing side... Right? We would look around and become overwhelmed with all of the negatives we see, read, and even debate over.
Change is in the air... and right now, it does not seem to smell very good.
But apart from all of this chatter is something powerful and great. It takes the estranged and the hostile and turns them malleable - it changes them for the better. It takes the deeds of destruction, of injustice, and of foolishness and masters them into a divine and glorious plan. It takes the sinful and makes them irreproachable.
Though the world points to a negative change, there will always be a Hand at work, breaking molds and renewing hope. And what Paul communicates in this section is that this glorious Hand will never change, falter, or break.
He is the image of the invisible God. In Him all things were created. In Him all things are held together. In Him, the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.And through Him, peace is made.
Who Jesus is will never change, no matter our point of view or what situational lens we choose to peer through. He is constant.
Yes, we know this...but sit on this thought: The God of the universe found complete pleasure in dwelling fully in the man who died for us. And Paul writes that God's fullness is also fully pleased to take you and I - people once controlled by the world around; people unable but to respond to it's fallenness with more fallenness - and He changes us.
The God who is constant finds full pleasure in making a way for us to be joined in His constant presence.
Does this mean that life around us will no longer fall apart? No. Does this mean that pain will no longer come our way? No. Does it mean that negative change will stop? No.
But it does mean that we have the opportunity to take part in something that will always remain and will always be changing things for the better. And this is the loving, holy, and blameless reign of Jesus.
Remain secure in this truth. Do not "shift" from the hope that we have in it. Jesus is here. And He is changing both you, myself, and the world around us.
Though the Spirit is unseen, the fruit of His hands are everywhere. Maybe we need to stop tallying, fearing, and debating over the negatives in order for us to actually see it.
With that said, we would love to know... Where are you seeing the Spirit of God work? What is He changing in your life, context, or situation? Feel free to comment below!
And as always, thank you for the read. Help us out by sharing it with others!
Blessings,
Greg, Declare Glory
