A Devotional Life

Colossians 1:15-23

"... without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard..."

(Colossians 1:23)

            We have a crisis of hope in the world and - too often - in the church. By now we have all watched as Baltimore burned. Those images undoubtedly stirred up inside us any number of feelings and thoughts. But at the root of it all is a clear and certain hopelessness. It may appear to be wrath or vengeance on the parts of some, but wrath and vengeance only gain traction in places where hope has already been vacated. Indeed, this is where those images can become a mirror into our own souls. For if we have anger at what we saw, then it can only be because that anger found room where once hope used to live.

            In this passage from Colossians (one of my personal favorites for whatever that is worth), we see Paul's understanding of the Gospel writ briefly. Now this is no small feat. Paul can be long-winded (try reading Romans in one sitting!), but in this moment he has done us the courtesy of boiling it all down: Jesus is the image of God (v. 15), He has created all things as God (v. 16), all things have been reconciled both to Him and through Him by the cross (v. 20), and we - who were once regarded as enemies - have also been reconciled to Him (v. 21). All of this is done independent of us. We have no word and no say and no action in it. This is the Gospel summarized in such a way that you could share it with someone on a mere elevator ride. Yet though we do not have a word or say in it, this does not mean we are not responsible to it. Because Jesus Christ has done this, we have a responsibility to stand steadfast and not shift in this hope (v. 23).

            Once we understand what this passage is saying, we can begin to think about the hopelessness in Baltimore in theological terms. This hopelessness arises in response to a rejection of all that Christ has done. The Church must be very clear on these matters. One cannot throw a stone, burn a building, or injure a police officer and still claim to be standing securely in the reconciliation and hope won for us in Christ. However, the Church must also be very clear on this matter: security and peace do not come through a police state either. The use of unjust aggression by authorities in power is just as faithless and just as hopeless as angry rioting. Let us even be cautious in using language like "authorities in power," because even "thrones or dominions or rulers or powers" (v. 16) stand under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We do not trust them instead of Jesus. We can only truth them within Jesus' Lordship. And if they step outside of recognizing their subservience to this King, then they - too - are just rioters and rebels.

            Thinking theologically - this passage teaches us - always goes beyond thinking in categories of "good" and "bad." Remember, you were once bad ("...you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds..."), but that isn't what matters here because of what Christ has done. Instead, what matter are categories of "obedient" and "disobedient." And while it is easier to see rock-throwing rioters as "disobedient," it does not stand to reason that the recipient of those rocks are - by default - "obedient." Indeed, it is quite likely that one disobedient person can very well throw a rock at another disobedient person. And I would claim that the sort of chaos we see burning through Baltimore is only the sort of chaos that comes when one disobedient person confronts another disobedient person. The scenes would not look so hopeless if there were a glimmer of obedience in its midst.