Do you remember where you came from? I don’t mean your hometown or your family of origin. I’m referring to Paul’s words to the faithful brothers and sisters in Colossae as they think back on the Lord’s hand in their lives:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

In case his point lacked clarity, Paul continued a few lines later:

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

I often forget from whence I came. Before the work of Christ, alienation and darkness epitomized my life. Perhaps I failed to realize the situation of my soul, but my ignorance doesn’t change reality. We exist in a world of two kingdoms—a dominion of darkness and a kingdom of the Son.

The Son is the image of the invisible God; the firstborn of all creation; due to his blood shed on the cross we may enjoy peace with God; through his death we present holy before God, without blemish and free from accusation.

Entry into the kingdom of the Son is not guaranteed. One needs to hold fast to the good news of Jesus, embrace his sacrifice and ways. Refuse to move back into our former homes.

This news of a boundary presents a problem. It’s popular today to believe that most every belief is ok, since God doesn’t judge anyone who’s not a Hitler-type person. Porous borders allow freedom from religious strictures while enjoying all that God offers. Those claiming exclusivity about Jesus need to lighten up.

Unfortunately, God fails to lighten up. The Scriptures present an binary choice, one each living person makes during their time on this earth. The dominion of darkness or the kingdom of the Son.

Choose wisely.

Colossians 1 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Daniel Diesenreither