“You and I never outgrow the gospel, nor do we reach a point in which it’s healing has run its course.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 9, 2023
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Colossians 1:21-23, NIV
Over the years, in the quest for the perfect hobby, I’ve started and stopped more things than I would care to admit! My garage is littered with sports gear–racquetball and tennis rackets, ruck plates, a customized road bike–each pointing to a season of life in which I was convinced this would be my path to fitness or recreational pleasure. I’ve left a similar wake of abandoned hobbies in many other areas of life: made-from-scratch corn tortillas, a medicine cabinet filled with mostly unused vitamins and supplements, or an attic that’s littered with musical instruments that haven’t been played in years.
Can you relate? Whatever the list may be for you, we all likely have stories of starting and stopping, good intentions that once led us to begin in a certain direction, yet various hurdles or obstacles led us to eventually abandon course and revert to whoever or wherever we were before. And while this may be relatively harmless and predictable when it comes to sports, cooking, or music, if this becomes a pattern or true of our life with God, the results are disastrous.
In Colossians 1, Paul begins his letter by reminding these early Christians of the incredible, unspeakable transformation that is made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Those who were once alienated and isolated by their slavery to sin and death have been reconciled, made whole, washed clean and presentable before the throne of God through the death of Christ. And as glorious as this truth is, we must not neglect or miss the emphatic nature of his words to them: all of this is true, yet you and I must continue in this way of life. The healing that Christ offers to us is a medicine that we must take daily. And to return to our opening metaphor, it is a passion and pursuit, a way of life, that we must not only begin, but must learn to embrace as core to the very fabric of our being, continuing in this way of life until we breathe our very last breath.
You and I never outgrow the gospel, nor do we reach a point in which its healing has run its course. We are forever in need of grace, and just as Christ is always offering himself to us, let us receive his gift by offering ourselves back to him, today, tomorrow, and for eternity.
Prayer
Father, give us the strength to stay the course, fighting the good fight of faith until the very end, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Are there ways in which you have gotten off course in your life of faith? What does it look like for you to return and recommit yourself afresh to the path that leads to life?
Related Reading
Psalm 33:1-6; John 8:31-32; Ephesians 2:1-10
Worship Resource
Phil Wickham: I Believe
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