Making Peace


Colossians 1:15-23
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Can you think of a hymn or a song that is just a part of you because you know it so well? Are you able to sing along with a song that you heard years ago, still retaining full memory of all (or most) of the words? Most of us would have to answer “yes” to those questions. When words are put to music or given intonation they stick with us. I can still sing songs I learned as a very young child because of the melody that accompanied them. Beginning with verse 15 (verses 15-20) we have what has come to be known as The Christ Hymn. In the Greek this passage has all of the markers of a liturgical song that would have been sung during worship. The people would have been able to recite (sing) this incredibly potent passage for their entire lives. You have to admit, these nine verses seems to carry incredible significance in terms of impressing upon us who Jesus is and what He has done for us. In this passage we are reminded yet again that Jesus was, is, and ever shall be, Holy God.

In this hymn we find Christ exposing the very image of God in His own person. With these words there can be no doubt that Jesus is God, present eternally. Jesus was responsible for Creation while at the same time being the One who was born into humanity through Mary. He is the One who controls the Body (the Church) and has brought that Church back from the evil that came to creation in the Fall. For me the phrase that carries the most impact from these verses is “making peace by the blood of His cross”. The world was created in peace and we brought chaos and sin into it. Jesus restored that peace through His blood death on the cross. Jesus brings peace.

In a world that seems to be short on peace this is a powerful message. Jesus is the very Author of peace. As Christians if we are not emulating that peace, perhaps we need to do a little self-evaluation or faith examination. If we are not bringing peace, perhaps we need to reboot and rethink our approach. Only twice in Jesus’ entire story do we see Him do anything that isn’t completely peace-filled and those two times were both when He over-turned tables in the Temple court. Jesus came to bring peace where we brought strife and sin. His blood alone can and does bring peace.

This passage is huge and I would encourage you to read it over several times. It is worthy of some serious mediation and reflection. Find that phrase or verse that causes you to ask a question or just stops you and demands your attention. That is God message to you for today and within this magnificent passage, you will find something that will give you pause and cause you to praise Him.

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