"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see —
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross." (Colossians 1:15-20, NLT)
It was pointed out that this passage in the letter to Colossi was likely written as poetry. Looking at my NTL column, that translation definitely renders it that way. Paul, an unlikely poet from my perspective, is exhorting the church in that city about the wonder and majesty of Jesus Christ. Rather than just laying out doctrine or instruction, he is waxing poetic about who Christ was, who he is, and who he will be.
Look at the beauty of the language ... "through him God reconciled everything to himself." And then the idea that Jesus was the vehicle for peace through his selfless act of dying for us. That's the end state of the whole Gospel. It starts with a rescue, moves to a redemption, and ends with a reconciliation. It's so simple, yet missed by so many who seem to want their efforts to play a part in that reconciliation. Such a pity as all the "heavy lifting" (all the lifting entirely, actually) has been done.
The Crooked Path is one of reconciliation. I see that daily as I stumble and yet press on. My Divine Brother - the Prince of Peace - walks beside me as we journey together toward the Father who has reconciled EVERYTHING to himself. Amen!
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