Week 47 Colossians 1
Paul says this about the Lord: he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son.
When people believe in the Lord they’re “rescued” (some other versions use delivered or transferred). In one way it sounds a bit like being an immigrant – moving from one country to another. But not exactly. It’s true to say that I’m a natural-born citizen of Darkness and that I leave there and relocate to the Kingdom of God. But immigration implies that I was free to leave. Paul is saying that I was not free to leave. I needed to be “rescued”. So I’m more like a refugee.
I wondered if Paul said anything more about me being like a refugee and so I decided to speed-read through Colossians. But it looks like Paul didn’t use the refugee idea again. I did see that he mentioned a couple of similar ideas (once-you-were-one-thing but now-you’re-another):
• Once you were far away. Now you’re near
• Once you were an enemy. Now you’re a friend
• Once dead. Now alive
• Once preoccupied with earth. Now interested in heaven
• Once having an old nature. Now having a new one.
The examples are different but the ideas are pretty much the same. Coming into faith means change. Adjustment. Evolution. Development. Process. Metamorphosis.
Statis doesn’t seem to be part of the agenda.
Note: quote from Colossians 1:13 (NIV). References to 1:21-22 2:13 3:1-2 & 9-10