“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).
There are four important words in this passage that we should not fail to pay attention to.
- Fullness of God
- Reconcile
- Peace
- Blood
In some ways, a few people might find this revelation offensive. Why is blood needed to bring people together? It’s a modern view of reconciliation that we negotiate, forgive, and forget without something being exchanged. We ignore the offense when we decide to forgive, but require nothing more. But this is not a biblical concept. Reconciliation and peace don’t just happen. They require a sacrifice to make atonement for the wrong committed. It requires blood. And Jesus paid that price for us in the shedding of his blood for our sin.
And, did you catch who we are reconciled to? Our passage says that it was to, “Reconcile to himself.” In other words, Jesus was paying the price of his own blood to he could reconcile you to himself. He took the initiative, not us. He sought reconciliation, not us. He sought peace, not us. He didn’t ignore our sin and forgive it without payment. He took our sin upon himself to reconcile us to him. And that payment was his blood.
Think of it. The person in whom the whole fullness of God lived, reconciled and made peace through the violent, painful, shedding of his very own blood.
Memory Verse
“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:19).
Application
Have you been offended by someone? How can you reconcile yourself to that person through Jesus’ shed blood? Have you offended someone? How can you reconcile yourself to that person through repentance and the acknowledgment of Jesus’ shed blood?