Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
Colossians 1:21
A Common Contradiction.
Have you considered this truth: you were once alienated from God and an enemy to God? This represents the condition of a life of sin, without the saving grace of Jesus Christ. But the follower of Jesus can rejoice in that our status as a child of God has changed from “enemy” to “one reconciled” and at peace with God. What an amazing and overwhelming exchange! Yet, a sobering question echoes within the emptiness of our own failures when we neglect God’s way for our own selfish impulses – How often do we engage with thoughts and practices defined more by the life of one who is an enemy to God than one who has been reconciled unto God through Christ our Lord? If this question gives you pause (and rightly it should for each of us), then consider the following resolve.
A Needed Resolve.
Follow God’s heart with every thought. Do not waist one single impulse of the mind or soul. Allow every inclination of your life to become surrendered to the higher calling of God in Christ Jesus over your life.
A heart surrendered to God represents a powerful force in this wicked world. Man, out of a natural and carnal inclination, lives for self. And therefore, the one who lives for self never transcends the limited knowledge and strength of self. But the one who lives for God in total surrender represents a life equipped with God’s wisdom and strength. The very presence of God through the Holy Spirit becomes both the content and confidence of the life surrendered to Him.
Content. God’s truth and wisdom represents the content of a life surrendered to Him. Moment by moment we are challenged in this world with versions of the truth – false and conflicting versions invented by man. From the fall of man, each person has been on a quest for self. But, one who is on a daily quest for God will surrender to His truth and will desire His truth as the only worthy content of life.
Confidence. God’s spirit represents His might and power, and becomes the confidence of one who truly seeks God’s heart every day. Conversely, the fallenness of man has resulted in man taking confidence in his own ability and insight. This represents the gravest of dangers. If I consider that I am enough in and of myself, I unwittingly attempt to arrest my soul from God’s divine plan and thus I become captive to my own selfish pride and self-reliant ego.
The Apostle Paul has labeled every person an enemy to God who has not accepted by faith Jesus Christ and His effectual death and resurrection. And, this enmity builds upon the self: self over Jesus. And, one can scarcely reason how any individual could place self over Jesus. But, do we not do this when we define truth ourselves (the content of our life) and rely upon our own wisdom and ability (the confidence we practice in life)?
So today, resolve to desperately depend upon God’s truth and the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Live in surrender to God’s Word and God’s Spirit every day. In this way, you will build your life’s content and confidence on Him and not yourself. This is truly one of the most significant resolves to which we all must return.
Blessings.
READ
Read Colossians 1:3-23 and be encouraged to continue steadfast in your faith in Jesus Christ.
