Paul has been speaking of their relationship with Christ: “continue to live your lives in him,” (v6); “built up in him” (v7); “For in Christ” (v9); “and in Christ” (v10); “In him” (v11); “having been buried with him” (v12).
Being ‘in love’ doesn’t mean you have stopped being who you are. But you are united with that person in a way like no other relationship you have. It is so deep and so powerful that they occupy your mind continually and everything you do is filtered through your thoughts of them.
Even more so with regards our relationship with Christ.
Paul’s ‘in Christ’ and ‘in him’ reveal the benefits of Christ’s life and death flow into our lives. How does that impact our lives? Here is what he says:
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15)
We are forgiven and we are free.
The fact that we are forgiven means we do not owe God. We don’t have to work hard to please Him. We don’t have to prove we are good enough. Neither do we have to pretend. We do not have to listen to those who want to give us their rules in order to be accepted.
We are in Christ and we are forgiven.
The fact that we are freed means we no longer live defeated. A successful life is not based on what we can achieve but to live in the victory that Christ has already won. It is to live knowing the cross was powerful enough to strip away every ‘power’ that held us back.
We are in Christ and we are free.
People are going in to their day today with a variety of battles. Nigeria is in the news for the battles on the streets. Yesterday at our denominations conference I prayed for the spouses of our ministers who have died this year and how they face their daily battles of loss and adjustment. I have a friend who is going to hospital today for an operation, it is her battle. Many people will face battles. Friends will part company today and face battles of loneliness.
But there is another battle. The battle of being in union with Christ.
It is very easy to feel overwhelmed by past failures. Regrets and wanting to turn the clock back are torture for the mind. It is very easy to be held captive to other people’s demands because of insignificance and lack of ability to be the person you want to be.
When it all becomes too much lift up your eyes to Christ. See what He has done. Know the intimacy of your love relationship with Him. Declare and hold on to the victory that He has gained. Be forgiven and be free.
Missions Paul 