I burned enough brain cells back in the day to be a contender for the “Brain Dead of the Year” award, so I get excited when the gray matter fires up & produces a “deeper than surface” thought.
Here is my “deeper than surface” thought for the day: Jesus is the measure of true love.
I read Colossians 1:20 – 22 this morning. I am reading the Amplified version this year, but when a verse or section jumps out at me I’ll read it in several different translations to try & get every nuance of meaning out of it I can.
Below is the Amplified version with snippets from The Message in parenthasis for emphasis.
20 And God purposed that through Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, (all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed… all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross - msg) as through Him (Jesus), [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.
21(You yourselves are a case study of what he does – msg) And although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities, (you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him… – msg)
22 Yet now Christ, the Messiah has reconciled you to God in the body of His flesh through death (by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you – msg), in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father's] presence. (Christ put your lives together, making you whole and holy in his presence. – msg)
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I am a broken person – my own bad behavior and the bad behavior of others has left me wounded, twisted, and what we in modern day America like to call dysfunctional.
I have been hostile toward God, acting wickedly and rebelling against Him. I have been an enemy to His kingdom – proclaiming as truth things that lead to the destruction and bondage of others, opening doors that led to dark places…
Yet now Christ has: reconciled me to my Heavenly Daddy, presenting me to Him as faultless. Having restored and properly fixed those broken & twisted placed, He declares me to be irreproachable, whole and holy. Not only permitted – but welcomed into His presence!
He has ravished my heart with His love. His example is what I am striving to follow. You see, I am selfish – especially in the way I love others. Shocking admission, I know! I love people according to how I feel, and I act on how convenient it is for me in the moment, often times with self-serving motives (how will this benefit me in the long run…). OUCH!
While these things are an ugly, but honest evaluation of where I am, I love the way The Message closes this section out:
“You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted.”
I can not turn my back on such a gift, I will continue to pursue a life of love. Loving Him & pouring His Love out to those around me.
Beautiful.