It would do us well to remember that we are qualified in spite of good or bad circumstances.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We all have reached a point in life (in the week, in the workday…) where it would have been helpful to remember the things that are good and true and noble—a little tangible glorious light of God in the midst of darkness around us. It would do us well to remember that we are qualified in spite of good or bad circumstances. It will keep us humble to remember that other believers around us are just as qualified also. It would also do us well to remember that we are rescued from one domain to another.
In verse 12 of Colossians 1, Paul provided great assurance in his thanksgiving. He reminded the Colossians that they are qualified. Whatever we may endure, we have this assurance of belonging to something far greater than we could ever ask or imagine. And to God be the glory that this inheritance, this assurance of who we are because of who we belong to, cannot be thwarted by circumstances.
We all have reached a point in life (in the week, in the workday…) where it would have been helpful to remember the things that are good and true and noble–a little tangible glorious light from God in the midst of potential layoffs, unreasonable timelines, or the monotony of repetition.
The assurance that one is qualified leads to the question: how can that be when there are so many things that can easily press against us? We are pressed from every direction and very often that pressing can come from inside. There are some who are not often shaken, so it is easy to forget that everyone has a breaking point where the resilient hope tends to wane. Otherwise, there would be no point of reminders in the scriptures for all of the saints. Paul gave these qualified ones in Colossians a good reminder of where they are.
I think in many sports there is a place where the coach decides that a marathon is necessary. In the workplace, it is called overtime or “(insert a name here) didn’t show up to work so we are going to need you to work a little longer.” When life feels like a marathon in one place it may be manageable. But when all your endeavors require an unreasonable stride, we need a reminder that we are qualified.
Keep moving, beloved; you are in a different domain.
Paul tells us that God has already snatched us out of one domain. He snatched us from one domain characterized by chaos and loss of fruitfulness and sorrow and placed us in the kingdom of his son whom he deeply loves. We are not yet there altogether, but then again we are already there.
Indeed, we all have reached a point in life (in the week, in the workday…) where it would have been helpful to remember the things that are good and true and noble—a little tangible glorious light of God in the midst of darkness around us. It would do us well to remember that we are qualified in spite of good or bad circumstances. It will keep us humble to remember that other believers around us are just as qualified also. It would also do us well to remember that we are rescued from one domain to another.
We get a great practical example of it in our text. The letter writer is assured that he is qualified by God as an apostle and so he writes, truly, not from the prison cell he probably sits in but from a kingdom where good news reigns supreme. A letter carrier is qualified and makes the trek some hundreds of miles not to the city of Colossae but to a qualified people that will be brothers and sisters in a kingdom characterized by everlasting love. That kind of assurance and hope produces encouragement and endurance. It spurs us on to do what we know we need to do. It keeps us going even if others do not understand. Remember the hope that we will one day know just how qualified we are and how great of a rescue God has performed. And that kind of hope will not end in disappointment. Remember the kingdom you (and others) were rescued and now belong to.
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