Colossians 1:11-20 (NRSV)
Read Colossians 1:11-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11May 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
Verse 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. Verse 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, Verse 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Verse 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; Verse 16for 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. Verse 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Verse 18He 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. Verse 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, Verse 20and 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.
Devotion
You’ve heard many times that Jesus Christ left his glory to die for you, so that by your faith in his death you have passed over from death to life. Inasmuch as it is good news that Jesus died for you, the status of Jesus Christ stated in this text should make you value his death more than anything.
Think carefully about his position: He is the very image of the invisible God, the most important person in God’s sight, the Creator of visible and invisible things, the head of the church, the firstborn from among the dead and the one in whom God is pleased to have all divine fullness dwell.
Jesus died for you without expecting any personal gain in return. This is marvelous!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for demonstrating such an amazing and incomprehensible love to me – a disobedient, sinful and ungrateful person. Amen.