The Creations of God!

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel…”  - Colossians 1:16-23 NIV

Most of us believe that God has created and put us on the Earth to have satisfying and comfortable life. Therefore, we live our lives according to our desires, passions, pleasures, and will. Once we get the life that we desire, we praise and thank God for the abundance lives that all of us could have. If we have some spare time left, then we start being holy and perfect for the sake of God—full of wisdom, full of love, full of mercy, full of grace, full of forgiveness, full of peace, full of justice, full of truth, etc.. However, if these are not working out as they are supposed to be, we would simply give them up, thinking the ‘way of the holiness and absolute perfection is too much for me and this way of living is not the will of God.’ We might even believe that all of us are going to the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age because we think the world is fully connected with the kingdom of heaven. Thus, for this reason, we consider that the main focus of living in this world is all about us.

Although everything belongs to God and has created for Him (Colossians 1:16-17), due to the fact that He is the Creator (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1), our own nature is not fully connected to the nature of God. This is because the way of the righteous living is different, compared to the world’s. We do not have to get rich and be perfect at everything to please God and to become holy in His sight. We just have to continue believing in Jesus Christ and His Word (Hebrews 11:6). ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”’ (Romans 1:17) This is because God has already chosen us to be holy and blameless in His Sight through Jesus Christ, even before we are born, due to the fact that we have been created to be His children (Ephesians 1:4-6) To continue on being holy and blameless that God wants us to, meditating on the word of God through the Spirit of God is the best way, as Psalm 1:1-3 declares that whoever meditates on the word of God is like a tree that is planted by streams of water and whatever they do, they prosper. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The Spirit of God is known as the Holy Spirit (John 14:26-27) but the Spirit is also the Spirit of the life (John 6:63) and the righteousness (Romans 8:1-17).

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:27-29)

Since everything belongs to God and for Him, we have to crucify our natural desires and and let the Spirit of God to dwell in our minds (Galatians 5:24-25), so that we could live our lives that are pleasing to God by doing the will of God until the end of the age (Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17). This is because not only does the natural desires tempts us to fall short in the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:4), but they also contradict the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:17). Falling short in the glory of God (Romans 3:23) is probably biggest sin that we could ever make, even though it is not physical (John 6:8-11), due to the fact that it actually means that we are stopping Jesus Christ from working powerfully within us as the Spirit of God (Romans 8:28). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30) Furthermore, if we completely have fallen short in His glory, we might come up to the point where we deny the fact that we have been created by God (Genesis 1:27) and the work of the Spirit of God (Ephesians 3:20-21). To be honest, I felt that I was lacking the glory of God yesterday, that I could not even write a devotional of this topic, because of the various reasons. I even came to the point where I wanted to give up my Christian life. As soon as I was thinking deeply about the glory of God, I tried to get back into the shape of what true Christian life is supposed to be by listening and reading the word of God. Surprisingly, my method of reading the word of God and meditating on them restored my spiritual status and I truly believe “the word of God is alive and active.” Apostle Paul urges us to fix our mind-set into the Spirit-filled mind-set so the peace of God may flow within us (Philippians 4:8-9).

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11)

Lord, we know that we have been using everything for our own glory—not yours,

So help us to acknowledge that everything has been made

through You and for You through Your Spirit.

And let us grow in Your Spirit by abiding in Your Word,

So that we are able to be holy and blameless in Your sight

Until the end of the age.

Therefore, we completely surrender to You,

So that You can work powerfully through us that, You have designed us to be.

 In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen!