Beholden

  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 1:13-14

Recently, I was back in my home town of Cincinnati and reminiscences of summer prime time past for our old school family reunions came up in our conversation. Most of them were a every four-year cycled affair in different parts of the country (LA, Cincinnati and Houston). Never held infrequently, with one or two dedicated matriarch/patriarch family members intent on ushering people together from all parts of the country with great laughter, song, food and interesting stories. Some of them were like something out of a bad traveling movie. Others were highly anticipated and left wonderful lasting memories for our family, “those were the days”.

“Do you remember when we stayed at that rest top in Arizona, to one of my cousins, as we made our way to California for our family reunion? And we had all that car trouble with that Ford Pinto? We were sleeping and had to cover ourselves with newspaper because we were so cold, we all broke out with laughter, man those were the days! And remember that park ranger came along and took care of everything? I was just thinking what a fantastic person he was!” 

My Pondering question, “would that park ranger ever know about our moment of remembrance. But if he can would he hear it as a big “shout-out of Beholden.” The incident was long over, but as cousins we still kept it in our hearts and reminded others of it also with smiles and treasured memories.

This brief verse, “Colossians 1:13-14”, concludes Paul’s prayer for the Colossians Christians. Verse 13 explained that God has rescued believers in Christ from sin. This phrase used the Greek word “didomi” 

 meaning “delivered”. God radically changes our status completely removing the eternal penalty of sin from those who have faith in Christ; concluding that thought, with a reminder of what Jesus has done, Redemption”. A theme of both the old and new testament, from the redemption of the Passover Lamb to the redemption of Christ on the cross. Through his sacrifice, Jesus provided a means for us to be forgiven for our sin.

So, too, is this passage a thanksgiving. The author is recalling, for the believers at Colossae, the initiative of God who, through Christ, had redeemed them. This was indeed worth recalling and showing thanks by retelling.

Oh, heavenly father, help us continually to give gratitude to you for your help in our lives. With the help of the Holy Spirit may we tell others what you have done for us. We are truly thankful for our salvation and for the knowledge that we have eternal life with you in Jesus name Amen.

God Bless You and This Ministry!