Kingdom Building

July 12, 2019

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:1-14

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. –Colossians 1:9-14

The Greek word, hamartia*, translated sin above basically means missing the mark or failure. It is the brand of sin that emphasizes its self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e. it is not originated or empowered by God. Most humans do not like to fail and often experience shame when they fail. Shame can lead to giving up.

Using terms like missing the mark or failure implies that we are trying to reach some goal. This definition of sin demands an objective, demands that we have identified behaviors we want to change. Loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves are goals which we are agreeing to pursue actively with intentionality. Learning from our mistakes is key to our learning to love like God. God enables that through God’s forgiveness.

God’s forgiveness of sins in a very real sense is a freeing from the bondage of shame and any other self-deprecating response we may have to missing the mark.  It is not that God is saying our failure is no big deal. It is God’s recognition that missing the mark/failure is a great learning tool when we can get passed our embarrassment or our loss of self-worth if we do not measure up to our own expectations or societies. Think how many times infants fall before they walk. Think how many three pointers a basketball player misses in practice before he or she figures out the best form needed to hit a shot. Think about how many attempts it takes to love someone who may not know what love is. God’s forgiveness allows us to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and try again.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for forgiving us of our sins. Help us invest ourselves in learning from all our failures. Amen.                                                                                                               

*https://biblehub.com/greek/266.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.