“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 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, 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.”
(Colossians 1:21-23 ESV, emphasis mine)
Let’s take special note of the word you in the above passage.
Before coming to Christ, you were adversarial in mind toward Him.
You were easily influenced by the Adversary in doing evil deeds. In turn, both your thoughts and actions alienated you from Him.
Yet even with your adversarial stand, through His great love Christ died for you.
By accepting His death, you were reconciled to Him.
Because of this, you may stand before Him at your death holy, above reproach, even without a hint of blame.
It is a standing that will usher you into an eternity with Him.
Those are the first and last chapters as written by the Lord in the “Biography of You.”
The First Chapter in the Biography of You:
• Your life alienated from God, the lust of youth and the sinful practices embraced by this world—for all have sinned and come short of His glory. This chapter concludes with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savior.
The Last Chapter in the Biography of You:
• The last chapter is completed “if indeed you continue in the faith.” Remember, Paul was writing to the “saints and faithful (emphasis mine) brothers….” That is important to remember in understanding just what he meant. “The ‘if’ is not an “unfulfilled, hypothetical condition presenting the possibility of a future mode [but] having the idea of ‘assuming that you continue in the faith’” (Wuest).
In other words, the last chapter in your biography is an established truth, not just a possibility, as you continue to be steadfast in possessing the gospel.
The first and last chapters of the Biography of You have been “written” by the Lord. It is up to you to write the middle chapter. Hence, the biography shifts and becomes an autobiography based on your life choices in the service of Him.
“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 ESV).
Let’s take our pen and paper and write some new pages of obedience and righteousness today!
