And He is the Head of the Body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell., and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
— Colossians 1:18-20
In Colossians, Christ is not only the preeminent One in the old and new creations, but He is also for us to experience. In this regard, we are told that Christ has reconciled all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in the heavens (1:20).
Before coming to speak tonight, I ate dinner alone, which is rare. As I ate, I had the opportunity to reflect and to consider things. One of the things I felt convicted by was my unworthiness. I am a sinner, am I not? Furthermore, I am full of shortcomings. After 50 years in the Lord’s recovery, at least I can say I am still here, but when I think of all that Paul accomplished and experienced in his years of service, I feel I have come far short in comparison. Furthermore, when I look at all you brothers, I also am aware that many of you come late to the meeting, or with no exercise of the spirit, or preoccupied with the condition of the stock market, and so on. So before this gathering I prayed, “Lord, I am so ashamed.” Yet the Lord’s response was, “You have been reconciled to Me through My cross. I do not see any problem. In fact, I am very happy with you.”
This is what it means to be reconciled. You may see yourself as ugly, yet He sees you as being beautiful. He even reconciled the heavens to Himself, for after Satan’s fall the heavens became contaminated. Therefore even the heavens required Christ’s reconciling work.
Adapted from Oneness and the One Accord, pages 78-79.
Monday: “The Church Life in Maturity” (1)