Colossians 1:13–14 ‘For he has… brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption…’ (v13)
We look at two short verses today that brim with meaning. In fact, Paul’s words summarise the gospel well – that Jesus rescues us from condemnation through the forgiveness of sins and the gift of new life.
Let’s dig in and examine some of Paul’s phrases, such as that Jesus ‘rescued us from the dominion of darkness’ (v13).
Here the light of God’s kingdom is implied by what we are saved from – a life of groping around in the dark while losing our way and perhaps smashing into brick walls.
Instead, the Lord brings us ‘into the kingdom of the Son he loves’ (v13). Here we find true joy and contentment; the promise of never- ending love; hope and healing; freedom.
Life with the Son warms our heart and softens our rough edges as we grow to trust and serve Him. Also in Jesus ‘we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins’ (v14).
What a gift that is! We are forgiven not only for what we’ve done in the past, but we can be set free from the destructive patterns of behaviour in the future.
For redemption means we were bought at a price – Jesus’ death has released the debt fully. Our forgiveness is complete following Jesus’ great rescue mission on the cross and His resurrection.
But, of course, as sinful people who live in a fallen world, we have to keep on forgiving and receiving forgiveness.
Thus, our Father gives us His Son and Spirit to live within us, to help us to leave behind our old self as we live out of the new.
As we do, the habit of forgiving becomes engrained in us and more of the redeemed self can be seen by others. This is all very good news!
A Prayer To Make:
‘Lord God, You rescued us from darkness and brought us into the light. Keep helping me to embrace the new life, with the help of Your Spirit. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
Look back over your past couple of days or week with God’s help to see if there is someone you need to ask forgiveness from, or someone to forgive.
Scripture To Consider:
Ps. 111:9–10 & 130:7–8; Gal. 2:20–21; Eph. 1:3–10
