David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings are Colossians 1; Psalm 43; 89; 2 Chronicles 1; Job 39. I hope you will join me in reading these passages.

Colossians 1:15-19

[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

When you picture God, do you think of the glory of God as seen in the Tent of the Meeting: a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night? Or Moses wishing to see God and being told that he cannot look on the face of God and live? God hides him in the cleft of the rock and passes by. And God said, “‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

That characteristic of God was clearly seen in Jesus. He abounded in steadfast love and faithfulness. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, forgiving iniquity. Yet he challenged the religious leaders who had made God inaccessible to the people of their day.

Paul says that in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. That in mind, I cannot get past the willingness of many to leave Jesus out of any talk of true religion or faith. Spirituality apart from Christ is empty and vain.

That’s to say nothing of those who strip Jesus of his true identity as the Son of God. Some want to claim to be Christian yet contend that he is a good teacher and no more. Others want to make Jesus one of several multiple choices in a pick-your-own-god vending machine of spiritual offerings. Many just ignore him altogether.

But it was through Jesus that God delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of Christ. Through him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We know who Jesus is. We honor him rightly and center our faith in his creative majesty, merciful redemption, amazing grace, and eternal salvation. No one else has those things to offer. Jesus. Only Jesus.