“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” — Colossians 1:12–14 (NIV)

Right from the beginning, let’s recognize who does the qualifying here. It is God, not us, who qualifies us into His kingdom. Too many Christians forget that they are who they are by the grace of God and not their own spiritual works. Also notice how the kingdom is described. It is called “the kingdom of light.” We have been taken out of our spiritual darkness (blindness) and brought into the kingdom of light. John 1 tells us that Jesus (the Word) was “the light of men.” This is as much a divine act as creation itself. God has made you born again. He has re-created you and brought you into His kingdom of love, light, and life.

Verse 14 tells us that God has done all this through the “Son He loves.” God works our redemption and our forgiveness through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. Jesus came into our spiritually dark world to do more than just shed light. He came to bear the darkness. Jesus came to bear all the sin and brokenness so that the only thing left would be light, life, and love. This is why Jesus says in the the Gospel of John, “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are God’s mighty hand of redemption doing what He promised from the beginning. The devil’s head is crushed, and we have salvation in the work of God’s mighty hand.

So, today, we give thanks! We thank God for all that He has done to redeem and restore us into His kingdom. We thank Him for His grace. We thank Him for our redemption and re-creation. Praise the Lord!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church