The One Who Came Before All Things, Holds All Things Together!
From Colossians 1: 11 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 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 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. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 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.
So you had a bad day? Or are you feeling weaker than ever before? Are you facing something you never thought you'd face? To all these things, the writer of this letter says, Get stronger with the strength that comes from God's glorious power which prepares us for whatever may come our way; may He give us patience and joy, so that we can be thankful in the face of that which we don't think deserve but thankful nonetheless. Then he reminds us of what God has shared with us; an inheritance with the saints in the light, a rescue from the powers of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son, redemption and forgiveness of sins. Then a list of who Jesus is and what Jesus has and is doing; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the source of creation of all things in heaven and on earth, both invisible and visible. Jesus came before all things and in Jesus, all things hold together. Jesus is the head of the church, the beginning and firstborn from the dead, and should hold first place in everything, especially our lives. God's fullness lives in Jesus and if we live in Jesus we have that fullness and abundance of which Jesus spoke in John 10:10, and we are reconciled with God through Him, thanks to the blood shed on our behalf.
If our source of life is this source of strength, our whining, our crying, our despair should change to joy and praise. We should be people of joy and patience that face all things with a different attitude than those of the world. Our sins are forgiven, and forgotten; we should live as those who know love and know how to love. That is truly a life lived in abundance.
PRAYER: Loving God and source of life and love, fill us with Your strength, peace, patience, and joy. Help those of us facing depressing days to realize that we have in you the promise of joy that lifts us higher than anything on earth can. Thank You for forgiving my sins and let me live that life to the fullest, a life lived in Your abundance. This I pray in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
