Without A Single Fault
“Now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:22
“Me? I’m standing before God without a single fault?” I’m thinking to myself. “Who’s Paul kidding?” But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I’ve been studying the book of Colossians for a few weeks. I like to read the book in one sitting a couple of times a week from different translations, and I’ve enjoyed getting familiar with its theme of Christ’s superiority.
On about my tenth reading of Colossians, I didn’t even get through chapter one when I had trouble getting wrapping my mind around this idea: I stand before God without a single fault.
I thought to myself, “Not me, baby.” I have so many faults I sometimes wonder why my wife doesn’t change the locks on the door while I’m at work. Besides, if I have no faults, then why am I a forty-eight year old ordained minister with a Master’s degree working in a lumberyard selling plumbing and electrical parts? Why isn’t there a church somewhere that wants my God-given talents and abilities? Why am I still opening my mouth and saying inappropriate things? Why do I still struggle with selfishness, pride, impatience, joy, love and self-control? How on earth or in heaven can Paul tell me I stand before God without a single fault?
I saw a former member of my church yesterday. It has been about a year since she and her husband moved to another state to pursue their careers, and the church really missed them and their family.
If you’ve been involved in Christianity for more that two weeks, you’ve probably sat around the dinner table with other Christians and prayed before you ate. This is a good practice, for reminds us that God is the source of all the good things in our life. However, I think our practice of praying before a meal can become nothing more than a religious habit, especially when we are in the presence of other Christians. To be honest, the only time I ever pray over a meal is when I’m with someone else. Otherwise, I just jump right in and eat.
I must admit that when I read this sentence, the first thing that comes to mind when I think about possessions is my “stuff.” And I’d be correct. Jesus said this in reply to two brothers who were having a not-so-friendly family argument over an inheritance. He then went on to tell a parable about a rich man who built bigger barns to hold his crop, only to die and leave everything he had hoarded to someone else.
This is the scene: Some time after the betrothal of Joseph and Mary, but before they consummated the marriage, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that God chose her to give birth to the long-awaited Messiah.
This passage in Job shows us there are times when, no matter which direction we go, we cannot find God or understand what He is doing. For some reason, there are times when He chooses to be elusive, evasive and evanescent. He answers to no one and refuses to ask permission to be Himself. Search for Him all you want, but if He chooses to hide Himself, there is no way to find Him.
Thinking Out Loud 