Let’s jump right into the tough stuff today. Before coming to know and trust
Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we are in rebellion to God.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. Colossians 1:21 (NIV)
Ouch! What an opening line. That is a tough concept because in general, we like to think we are pretty good at our core. We like to put ourselves in a class of not one of “those” people. Colossians paints quite a different picture of us. It puts a biblical truth on our worldly ideas.
As we come into a relationship with Christ we must arrive at that truth. We are in rebellion or enemies of God and to come into peace with Him we have to come to terms with this. We have to admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior while recognizing that Christ is that Savior.
Being Christians we often wrestle with who we are in Christ or who we become in Christ. We let our own thoughts or the thoughts of this world establish our identity. We are even willing to stand on that identity without pause.
But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—Colossians 1:22 (BSB)
Today as I sat reflecting on these verses from Colossians, I was overwhelmed with this reality.
When I became a believer in Christ, I didn’t understand who I was. You can read my testimony here. Because I thought living “right” for Christ was more about doing. To be honest, I failed miserably at the doing. My messes became messier until I found myself in a pit.
Here is what I didn’t understand about this beautiful story that I want you to understand and believe to be true for you.
Before accepting Christ as our Savior, we were not able to be at peace with Him.
But after being reconciled to Christ, we are given a new life. Reconciled means that we are brought back to a state of harmony or peace with God. This is not because of what we are doing.
Colossians reminds us it is because of the death of Christ’s physical body we can be made new. Because of this new covenant, we have a new hope.
I want to put this into a different perspective for us but not for one moment down playing it’s reality.
Imagine with me if you will, you want to go to the royal castle but you have offended the king, in the worst possible way. You have been a rebel to the throne. You have lived your life your way and because of this you cannot be in His presence.
One day you realize that the king is the only way for you to live your life in peace. Peace with him, peace with others, and peace with yourself. So, you ask the king to forgive your rebellion. After doing so, the king asks to see you.
As you enter his castle, the royal trumpets are blown and the royal guard announces you to the king. “Your Highness, I would like to present to you, your daughter, the Princess.”
As the king turns to you, He rejoices. Because he no longer sees you as a rebel, but in his presence, he sees you as holy and without fault. All your evil deeds have been cast deep into the sea and he only sees you as his beloved child.
That may or may not seem like a huge leap. But that is what you have as a new life in Christ.
Because of the death of Christ’s physical body. You are able to enter the presence of God as holy, unblemished, and blameless. In God's presence you are presented as His son or daughter, an heir (Galatians 4:7). You are dressed in His royal robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)
For a long time, I lived in my sin. It became familiar and comfortable. It was an identity I was willing to rest on because it was the one I recognized. To break free of that took Christ restructuring and mending.
For many years, I held onto my past. It had become this medallion of shame that I thought I had to bear. A scarlet letter that I was sure everyone saw and condemned me by.
That is not who I am in the presence of God.
In Christ, I have a new life. I am not that person. I do not have to wear my shame like a chain around my neck.
I am presented to God by Christ Himself as holy, clean, and blameless. Soak in that with me for a while.
You may not feel you have a past to escape but the reality is we are all in complete rebellion before we accept Christ as our personal Savior but we DO NOT stay there.
Because Christ is the Living God, raised from the dead. Sitting on the throne at the right hand of God, we, too, can be made alive, holy and free from our past.
We are free to face this new life with confidence in who Christ is and who He says we are in His presence.
I don’t know about you but that is a word that I need to be reminded of. Today that word overwhelmed me. To think that one day, I will stand before my God and King and will be presented as holy in His sight. His grace blows me away.
It allows me to move from rebelling to rejoicing. Rejoicing in the sweet name of Jesus.
Personal Reflections:
How do you see yourself? Is that how God sees you? Are you willing to believe the God who sees and knows you intimately?
Do you have guilt or shame that needs to be left at the throne? Are you willing to part with it in your life?
Today as you reflected on the presentation of you to your Heavenly Father, what emotions stirred in you?
Given a new life in Christ gives us the opportunity to rejoice, what words of praise do you have for the Lord?
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This week's featured friend is Carlie Lake From Dust Towards the Heavens. I love these beautiful lines from Carlie's about page - "earthen vessel saved by God. I don't deserve His mercy and can't do anything to earn His love, so rather than use my introverted personality as an excuse, I'm learning how to rely on His power to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Christ in this prickly world. Humbled that He chooses to use me at all." Thanks for joining us, Carlie. I am glad you are here!
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Labels: A Living Hope 7-Week Study, A New Life, Colossians 1:21-22, Sitting Among Friends Blog Party
But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—Colossians 1:22 (BSB)
Because Christ is the Living God, raised from the dead. Sitting on the throne at the right hand of God, we, too, can be made alive, holy and free from our past. 
