For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians1:13-14
Self-image is an ongoing problem today and it is not only teenagers who struggle with feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem...
The problem is that many of us build our self-image on our opinion of ourselves... (and this is circular logic!) The problem is that we are broken by sin and we know it. So when we are self-referencing (think about ourselves as we see ourselves) it is a downward-spiral.
Remember that the Colossian church is in a tiny town that would disappear after a century or so. It would be easy for the Christians there to have a "small town" mentality: "We're not much..."
But Paul has prayed that they would be thankful (see vs.12) and now he gives them the reason to be thankful and the foundation on which to build their self-image.
Their self-image was not to be based on their achievements, their background or anything they had done. Their sense of self is based on what God has done:
1. He has rescued us from darkness
2. He has brought us into the kingdom of the much-loved son
3. He has redeemed and forgiven us.
This redemption and forgiveness came through the "Son He loves" and the "Son He loves" went to a cruel Roman Cross to obtain our salvation for us.
So... Who AM I?
- I am loved enough to be rescued even though I was in darkness.
- I am lovingly adopted into the family of the beloved Son of God
- I am redeemed (bought back/ransomed) and forgiven at great cost!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
