It is easy to be overwhelmed by the calling to be a Christian. After all, being a Christian requires you to be more than just a good person by the world’s standards, it requires you to go even further. When someone slaps you on the face, you not only keep your cool, but you don’t retaliate. When you come across a stranger in the road who has been hurt, you don’t just ask how he’s doing, you go out of your way to take him to the hospital and pay for all the expenses. Following Jesus require a lot of us and Paul clearly knows that in Colossians 1. He uses dramatic, big language to remind the Christians in Colossae of their calling to be “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.” That phrase alone is enough to scare me. I have to please the Lord in every way? And he goes further with the phrases “bearing fruit in every good work,” “having great endurance and patience,” “being filled with knowledge, wisdom and understanding.” And I read this prayer of Paul and I really wish he wasn’t praying with such big, all-encompassing language, because it leaves a lot for me to live up to.
But Paul does not leave the Colossians or me wondering how on earth we are going to fill such a tall order. Instead, Paul uses what was probably a familiar hymn at that time to explain.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 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. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 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.
And after this hymn, I imagine the Colossians breathing a sigh of relief…I know that’s my reaction. Because I realize that, if left to my own devices I would never be able to fully live the life of a Christian; instead, Jesus has already accomplished these things. He holds all power, and is completely sovereign and supreme over all. It is this same Jesus who is working in and through his people, and with His help, even the impossible transformations are possible.
May we all hold onto this hope we have in the mighty power of Christ who is at work within us bringing about incredible transformation.
But Paul does not leave the Colossians or me wondering how on earth we are going to fill such a tall order. Instead, Paul uses what was probably a familiar hymn at that time to explain.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 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. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 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.
And after this hymn, I imagine the Colossians breathing a sigh of relief…I know that’s my reaction. Because I realize that, if left to my own devices I would never be able to fully live the life of a Christian; instead, Jesus has already accomplished these things. He holds all power, and is completely sovereign and supreme over all. It is this same Jesus who is working in and through his people, and with His help, even the impossible transformations are possible.
May we all hold onto this hope we have in the mighty power of Christ who is at work within us bringing about incredible transformation.
