The Place to Be #66

 

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 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, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Having boasted of the greatness of Christ and His salvation on our behalf, Paul now goes on to remind his readers (and us) of the impact the work of Christ has in the lives of those who trust Him.  Our hearts had been alienated from God; our minds were at war with Him, and our bodies did all sorts of rebellious acts against Him. But now, in Christ, our hearts have been reconciled to God; we desire to please Him, not offend Him; we seek to live holy lives under His loving, watchful care.  With this reminder of everything we have been given in Christ is also a warning of what happens when we stop standing on Christ alone: the stability and strength we have been given will slip right out from under our feet.  If we step away from trusting in Christ alone, we move from the Solid Rock to the slippery slope that slides down to sinking sand. This happens both in our individual lives and our churches.  Paul's very mission was to represent Christ as His ambassador, telling unbelievers about Him, and reminding believers to keep trusting in Him.