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Since reading Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence
This morning, I read Colossians 1:15-23 in the Message. Below is the full text for you to read, too. The words in bold are the ones that almost literally jumped off the page to me. It may seem like a lot to read, especially on a blog, but if you’re feeling a bit lost or broken, I think you’ll be encouraged. There is purpose and wholeness in the words.
Colossians 1:15-23, The Message (from Biblegateway.com)
15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
21-23You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
I want to be a messenger of this Message, too. Purpose and wholeness are found in Jesus.
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Jenny, I picked up the book at the library. I think you might enjoy it. Let me know if you do read it and your thoughts. He defines and corrects the meaning "Dark Night of the Soul", using two Saints as references, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.
Awesome, Lynette. That's beautiful. I'll have to check out the Gerald May book. Thanks for commenting!
Love. I believe our purpose is too love God and others, and that we are born with the desire to be loved and to love. But we have a misconception of love, how to receive and how to give. At our center is our soul and God, both of which have been in place since birth. He is working to rid of us attachments that prevent us from loving freely and being able to accepting true love. This work I believe (have believed and confirmed after reading Dr. Gerald May Dark Night of the Soul) is soulwork that is being done in obscurity by Him. This work I believe is freeing us to fullfil our purpose, to love freely. For me I love very poorly. The good news is God is patient & respects the uniquness of my soul.
Thanks for the read and the reminder and the message. I have always thought of it this way: as I strive to know God more and more, to be more Christlike, my purpose comes more clearly into focus. My striving and my success in living His will and purpose for me are parallel and inextricably intertwined. I love the thought that my brokenness leads to my wholeness, all because Christ paid the ultimate price…for me! Wow!
Yes, good words, Pamela! Thanks so much for commenting =)