The Great Translation
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians 1:13).
And how great is that darkness! I’ve known some decent individuals in my time. And I’ve known some real scoundrels. But the equalizer for each of us is the absolute holy, righteous, and perfect standard of God that we each fall short of. This standard puts the chief sinners in the same camp as the casual sinners. The seven year old who is angry with a sibling is camped in darkness with the seventy year old who has murdered! Apart from Christ we are each held by the power of darkness. There is no gray.
Do you hear the good news in this verse? “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” All need deliverance. And who are the delivered? Those who are in Christ by believing. Will you believe? Jesus died for us that we may have life. The Heavenly Father has translated the redeemed, the forgiven, into the kingdom of His dear Son. And that kingdom is one of great light. The darkness is gone and the true light has come.
I am not sure any of us can adequately tell the story. And I’m not sure many of us bask in its glory. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). There we were, dwelling in utter spiritual darkness. I say again, the light has come! What great privilege and undeserved blessing is ours, beloved. Let us rejoice in this deliverance. Let us rest in this great translation into the light!
May the reality of our new life in Christ empower and constrain us to walk as children of light. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light
:” (Ephesians 5:8).
January 26th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Forrest,
Thank you for your post. This was excellent. We all need to remember that we are no longer in darkness, but in light. (His Light and likeness.) We all need to remember that Christ has paid the price and redeemed us out of darkness and into “His marvelous Light”.
We love you. In our prayers.
In Christ,
Don D.
Col 3:14
January 28th, 2010 at 7:14 am
The call to Holiness – so true and so unfathomable, as you have said. How refreshing it will be to be in His presence where all arrogance and pride will be destroyed!
Which of the martyrs was it who said, “Go ahead, threaten me with heaven.” Or was it you who said that? ;-D
Have a wonderful and restful day! God bless and see you soon.