Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Qualified, Rescued, Translated, Redeemed

September 3, 2014

Having a bit of spare time this afternoon, I decided to skim through St. Paul's letter to the Colossians. Trying to improve my skills for our Cuba mission trips, I read for awhile in Spanish; it's slow going, but I'm doing better every day. I imagine my experience is akin to a child learning to read for the first time, struggling to decipher individual words and losing the overall meaning in the process. But that's not the point of this evening's writing, which is in danger of getting lost in the detour.

I preached on this text (Colossians 1:12-14) some years ago, but the outline comes back to me as clearly as it did on the day I gave the sermon. It's one of those texts that simply jumped out at me with ready made illustrations that brought it to life. It initially caught my attention because in it, Paul tells us in a single sentence (in the Greek, which was known for run-on sentences) four important things God has done for us in Christ.

First, he "qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." My late father in law was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, racing against the likes of Tim and Fonty Flock, Curtis Turner, Lee Petty, and other early greats. In racing, drivers have to qualify for position on the track in the big race. If your time isn't good enough, you don't qualify, and you don't race. In our text, it says that in Christ, God ran the qualifying run so we could get in the race. It's up to us to finish our course, but without God's doing we wouldn't even be on the track.

Second, he "rescued us from the dominion of darkness." The lifeguard continually scans the water for unusual patterns, indications that someone is in trouble. If trouble is spotted, he or she sounds the alarm and runs to the rescue of the drowning swimmer. It is axiomatic that someone drowning cannot save himself. He wouldn't be drowning if he could save himself. In Christ, God rescued us. We were going down for the count, and he saved us from the darkness of sin that threatens to engulf us all.

Thirdly, he "translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son." That's how the old translations have it. The NIV merely says, "he brought us into the kingdom." I prefer the old version. I've preached to congregations in Mongolia, Nepal, and Cuba, all places where I needed a translator to communicate, to connect with the people I was with. To translate is to transfer understanding from one culture to another. That's what God did for us in Christ. He made it possible for us to actually connect with an entirely new culture; the Kingdom of God.

Lastly, he "redeemed us." When I was a kid, my mother saved S&H Green Stamps, which were given out in grocery stores and redeemed, or traded for useful stuff at the S&H store. In Biblical times, slaves could  be redeemed, ie. bought back and set free. God in Christ traded our sins for something worthwhile; his salvation and glory. He forgave our sins.

I am grateful tonight for these four gifts of grace, given purely from the love of God to someone like me who didn't deserve them, had no reason to expect them, but has been so blessed by them.

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