“At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got.
But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. 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. There is no other Message-just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message.”
Colossians 1:21-23 MSG
Have you ever turned your back on someone? Or has someone done it to you? That snubbed, I’m-not-going-to-listen-to-you attitude?
Well, that’s what we did to God! Rebellious trouble-makers to the King of Kings. Ouch.
I mean, who do we think we are?
Thankfully, God kept pursuing a love relationship with His creation (us)…and Jesus made it all possible by dying on the cross for our putrid, sin-stinking selves.
Jesus brought you over to God’s side. Put your life together. Making you whole and holy in His presence! What a gift!
But there’s one catch. You gotta wanna accept His gift. It is yours for the taking. This gift is for everyone. But not everyone takes it. That doesn’t make sense. We did all the rebelling and trouble-making. And what does He do? Gives us a gift. That behavior doesn’t sound so gift-worthy to me!
The gift is not based on YOUR actions. The gift of Jesus, dying for your sin to bring you to God’s side, is based on HIS love, HIS character, HIS desire to have a relationship with His creation… YOU!
You don’t walk away from a gift like that! That would be foolish. Instead, you respond by living a grounded and steady life. Focused. Not allowing yourself to get distracted or diverted from the main thing… The Message! The Good News! The Gospel!
And what is that? The fact that Jesus stepped out of eternity into time for this one, specific reason! To give us the gift of His death and resurrection…so that we could LIVE now and for all if eternity. All we need to do is believe and accept His life-giving gift.
There is no other Message…just this one. This is it. For you. For me. For the world. Every creature under heaven gets the same Message. So simple. So profound. So life-changing.
