For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14, NIV)
Life can feel like a worn out routine sometimes. Same oatmeal breakfast as yesterday. Same schedule posted on the fridge for another week to start. Same arguments with your family. Same “wait-in-traffic” morning… Same reaction too, a low-grade fever from the frustration that comes with the minutes flying by out of your reach and control, and the same to-do list waiting for you at the office. Golf can be the same way. Maybe you’re stuck making bogeys behind that slow fivesome on Friday afternoon, wondering if you’ll make it home before dark!
But sometimes, something different, something unexpected happens… maybe some cinnamon sprinkled in the oatmeal, a “date night” with your spouse, a kind word instead of an insult, a good song on the radio while you’re in traffic to lift your mood, or the unexpected chip-in that changes momentum of your golf round.
These instances really do make a difference in our outlook. We love the break in the mundane, the blessing among the muddling.
The gladness we derive from these things gives us only a slight glimpse into what Jesus can do as the ultimate momentum changer. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus was as dramatic as it gets. Struck blind to face the risen Christ. After formerly killing Christians, he believed Jesus. He wrote 13 books in the New Testament, faced the harsh persecution he once had prescribed to believers, and died as one ascribing to the Messiah, the Christ. What a grace-full transformation! It is truly amazing.
Yet even more miraculous to ponder is the transformation in the unseen realm that today’s passage speaks of. When Paul believed, just like when Jesus enters our hearts today, something BIG happens in eternity. It is a complete rescue from the dominion of darkness. What does this mean? That without Jesus, darkness had authority, power, control, command, and dominance over us. It had the last word. It screamed “death” over us in the spiritual realm. But it only became a whisper in our ear through the distractions of this world and supposing we might be “good enough.” Like C.S. Lewis illustrated in The Screwtape Letters, the devils are cunning and do not want us to think of our existence beyond this present life, because then we might wake up to reality—reality that we are bound for eternity. We might wake up in sweat from the nightmares that being doomed to darkness might provoke.
In darkness’ territory, we could not attain the kingdom of light and fellowship with God. It was impossible. The abyss that lay before us was too great. But through God’s loving plan, this momentum toward darkness suddenly changed. It changed when Jesus came into this world with full authority and power from God. It changed when he died—submitting himself to death on a cross—and was resurrected. Today, this BIG change can happen in your heart. All that is required is to believe the one God has sent (John 6:29).
What is glorious about Jesus is that he is not just a sprinkle or a little change in our lives; he is completely transforming! His Spirit guides us into all things. The beauty of the rescue carries on after our initial conversion as his Spirit has power to deliver us from anger, jealousy, a quick harsh word, a bad habit, etc… Every once in a while, we find ourselves in a less than Christ-like attitude pattern; we try wishing it away, praying it away, working it away, and then… Jesus comes in. His love changes everything. He is able and willing to transform us! Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
But there’s more yet! Not only did he rescue us, not only is he is transforming us, but he has yet one more magnificent change to bring about:
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
This last change in momentum will happen either at the end of our lives or when he comes back to reign in this world. God has laid out a plan for the past, the present, and the future, and it is continually unfolding. We may not finish the round before dark behind that slow fivesome, but with Christ, we can be assured to make it home, and not in darkness, but in the same kingdom of God’s beloved Son, forgiven of our sins. Now that’s positive momentum!
—
Isabelle Beisiegel
October 16, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.