Colossians 1:13-20For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers 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 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Well, Christmas is almost here! The sounds, sights and smells are all around. In the last 24 hrs I have eaten some amazing homemade sweets that were brought to the PoG office, smelled some great coffee graciously dropped off in my office, listened to the worship team practicing amazing songs of Christmas… … … and then I read the scripture above. The heart of Christmas is just poured into my heart as I read, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him (Jesus), 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”
What so resonates in my heart is this reality that the true Christmas miracle is that God was “pleased” to be fully present in the person of Jesus and through Jesus to “reconcile” me with God and make “peace” between me and God through His sacrifice on the cross. That changes everything, everything about my life! I can live each day in line with God, in sync (although imperfectly) with Him and never alone! I get to access this life by faith.
I have been considering the words of the angels to the shepherds, “Peace on Earth” especially in light of the stark reality that we live in a world of people that are not at peace with each other or themselves. What is this “peace” of which the angels speak and the Apostle Paul writes. It is a “peace” that God was pleased to bring, that cost Him His life on the cross, a “peace” that reconciles me to God. It is a peace that "rescues me from the dominion of darkness" even though the world around me may show evidence of a lot of darkness that darkness does not have to have dominion - rule - control over me ... ... ... that is good news, really good news!
If I could wish for all of you any one thing this Christmas it would be that in a beautiful and fresh way you would receive, experience and enjoy a bold new dimension of this “peace” that is such an amazing gift, freely given to each of us and to our world of people that so desperately need it!
Merry Christmas,
Enjoy the Peace,
delton
***Be sure to catch both blog entries for today. That's right - two times the conversation and interaction with God's Word and each other! Have a wonderful day!