“For it pleased the Father that all his fullness should dwell (in Christ), and through him to reconcile all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, making peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19,20).
One of the things that almost every person desires is unity. we use words like solidarity, harmony, And perfection As positive words that describe something we want to have more of in our lives. Wouldn’t we love to have more peace within ourselves, with our neighbors and, above all, with our God? Yes, we would, and we also like to imagine a physical world where the forces of nature are not at war, a peaceful kingdom where things are not torn apart by tornadoes and hurricanes.
Yet if we desire unity, there is precious little of it in the world as it is now. The ideal here is hostility, not unity. We don’t need to look at the daily news or in the mirror to know that a lot of things have gone wrong.
Of course, the promise of the gospel is that God is working toward a great reconciliation of all things in Jesus Christ. All “fullness” resides in Him, and in Him God has solved the problem of sin, which is the root cause of every brokenness within us and in the outside world. “Having made peace through the blood of His cross,” God is now bringing the history of this world to a victorious conclusion. The time is coming when everything will be put back together, and those who are willing to live in harmony with His knowledge will always enjoy the peace of that knowledge. When that day comes, there will be no brokenness, no discord with anyone or anything. Every trace of rebellion and disruption will be appropriately banished from God’s presence, so that the peace of His kingdom can never again be disturbed.
But its time has not yet come, although we pray that it will come soon: “Come, O Lord!” (1 Corinthians 16:22). For now, we are called to live with a certain tension in our hearts: tension that comes from a deep longing for something that is not available in the world in which we live. This tension, this longing, is not meant to discourage us – it is meant to teach us what we need.
“Our spiritual thirst makes us yearn for the unity of all things and for unity with the divine. But we seek in vain for perfection within creation” (Paul Siholas).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
