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NOVEMBER 3, 2011
OUT OF THE NIGHT
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14, NIV)
I have one recurring gripe about golf. It cannot be played at night.
I supposed if I lived further north, alongside my Canadian friends, I could—for a portion of the year—work
a full day in the office, then grab some dinner and head to the links with plenty of daylight left for an 18-hole round. I know, too, that I can at least get to the local lighted range and hit balls at
night. But if I could play golf in the evening year-round, as my friends who play tennis or basketball might do, I would be a happier camper.
The problem, you know, is the cost of reaching all the far corners of a championship course with light. It’s
prohibitive. So, until someone comes up with a feasible solution, we must be content to let our favorite courses rest through the night.
Fortunately, this is not the case for the spiritual darkness that desires to hold us in its grip. For this there is a
solution, and His name is Jesus.
The apostle Paul did not mince words when writing to the Colossians about their old life compared to their new one.
Their old life—like his—had been lived in the dominion of darkness. That is, the combination of their ignorance of God’s grace and their self-service living had kept them from seeing
the way to salvation.
But God, reaching down in a complete sacrifice of His own, sent His Son Jesus into the world “in the likeness of
sinful man to be a sin offering” (Romans 8:3), “[qualifying us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12). That’s no small act and no
little transfer! Darkness does not let go without a fight. Indeed, there is no way any of us could have won this battle on our own. It could only be won by the Messiah, the Savior.
The transfer required redemption—our spiritual worthlessness was swapped for a new life of ultimate value to God,
made so by His Son’s own righteousness. It also required forgiveness—that is, God’s dismissal of our sin as something that precedes death. Though our sin and its consequences mark our
past and sometimes ruin our present, Christ’s sin-bearing death in our place assures that it will not determine our eternal future. Instead of eternal death apart from God, by Christ’s great
work we will live forever with Him, enjoying the wonder and the work of the unmitigated kingdom to come.
That’s a lot of remarkable theology packed into one brief passage of Scripture. In fact, you may need to reread
it and commit it to memory and meditation in order to catch its fullness. But it is a full understanding you will really want to gain, because its knowledge that will lead you to wonderfully confident
living in Jesus.
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Jeff Hopper
November 3, 2011
Copyright © 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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