He rescued us

Colossians 1:1-17 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³ We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

¹³ For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Recently there have been numerous tragedies and disasters, powerful storms, floods, earthquakes and shootings, which have put millions of people in perilous situations. In the midst of all the tragedy we occasionally also hear of good stories. We hear of heroic actions and people being rescued from the devastation, rescued and saved from peril and even saved from death. Surely those who are rescued are eternally grateful to their rescuers and would never wish to be in that type of situation or circumstance again. In today’s text Paul says:   …giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.    God the Father and Jesus, His beloved Son rescued us from the peril of darkness and death. Like those rescued from a tragic situation, we have been taken out of harm’s way, transferred from the place of peril to a place of safety. We have been taken to far more than a secure building. We have been given refuge and safety in the kingdom of God. We have been made safe abiding with God and Christ. The psalmist says:  He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. (Psalm 18:16-19)   In Psalm 91:1-4 he says:  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.     We have been rescued from peril and death by God and Christ and are secure from future harm when we remain abiding in and dwelling with them.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone who was rescued from the peril of one of these tragedies would return again and choose to continue at risk of death. It would be a terrible insult and an affront to those who risked their own lives to save them. Yet that’s what many do to Christ, their rescuer. They willingly choose to return to the darkness and peril rather than abiding in safety and light. They choose the darkness of the world over the light of the kingdom of God. Like those who choose to ride out the storm, they fall into one of two categories, either they are truly unaware of the peril they face or they stubbornly choose to remain where they are. For some who do not heed the warning of the approaching storm and the offer of safety, there is an escape, they live for another day. For some though, who ignore the rescue from peril their decision leads to death and destruction. While some may reject Christ’s rescue and salvation, living another day, no one who chooses to live in darkness will live forever. Hebrews 9:27 says:  It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.   Jesus says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:16-21)  

There is only one reason that we should stay or return to the peril and darkness when we have been rescued by God and Christ. Paul says:  The gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth… we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father.    In giving thanks to the Father because we are eternally grateful that we have been rescued, we return the peril of the world, not living in darkness but rather as God’s messengers of light. Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)  We return to the darkness, the devastation and peril, not because we love the darkness, but rather to shine a light for others that they too may be rescued by Christ. Our good work, as first responders in the midst of chaos, bears fruit for the kingdom of God.  

Grace to you and peace from God our Father…Jesus, His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.   Amen.