November 23rd Reflection - How Great is That! - by Bill Lynch

Colossians 1:11-20
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ
 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Reflection - How Great is That!
Isn't it great to be a disciple of Jesus? It's great in that the image of the invisible God became flesh just like you and me and came to us in the midst of our sin. Jesus comes to us as the firstborn of all creation. Jesus was with us before we even knew we existed. The Father thought of our needs ahead of our need. How great is that! And through Jesus we can have life in the Light of God. We can have union with all of the saints in the light. Just think of it. All of those people in our lives who have gone on, all of those people in our lives who have gone before, all of those people in our lives in the present, the past and the future will be with us as disciples and saints in the Light of Jesus. Jesus the first in flesh, the first to rise, the head and King of all there is will be with all of his disciples.

And even in the here and now, we rejoice in the presence of Jesus. We rejoice in the presence of the saints here now and the saints past. We rejoice because of what God has done for us through his love for us in God's thinking of us before we even knew we needed to be thought of. How great is that!

The passage above is a prayer of Paul. A prayer for the Colossians. A prayer for spiritual strength. A prayer that recognizes that we can't be spiritually strong on our own. It's not something we can work ourselves up in a flurry of spiritual fervor. We can't do this with good works or any "Church Lady" pious actions. Spiritual strength is a gift from God. Spiritual strength comes from God not from us. We are brought into the light of the Spirit through Jesus. We are brought to faith and hope and grace through what God has given to us from before we could even be aware of ourselves. God alone gives us strength to endure in the joy and hope and love that all will work itself out into a union with God and all the saints.

Yes, here we have a prayer of Paul for forgiveness and redemption and union with God as one through Jesus Christ. It's not about how we work ourselves into the Kingdom of God, it's about how we work because we are lovingly and graciously invited into the Kingdom of God. How great is that!

Prayer
Father, you thought of it all. I give you all glory, honor and praise for taking care of me. I look to you and follow your lead in life. Show me the gifts to use and develop them within the work I gladly perform in your Kingdom. Make me a pleasure in your sight that all I do and all you call me to do may bring you glory. For you alone are my King... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen