As I was studying in Colossians the other day, I was reading different translations of Scripture and came across Colossians 1:18-20 in the Message version. It reads, "[Christ] was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross." I love that last part... "all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe...get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death."
As I kept reading over that passage, I was struck again with awe at the power of the cross. Many times it is easy for me as I talk with people to believe that my words, actions, giving, sharing, teaching have this power to heal or fix broken places in people's lives. But it is only the power of the cross of Jesus Christ that takes all the broken pieces, and not only heals, but brings out vibrant harmonies fitting everything together perfectly.
I pray that my life would be characterized by pointing people back to the cross, by taking the hand of those who are broken and walking with them, but walking to the foot of this cross together. Thank you Jesus for your cross, that because of your ultimate brokenness, we might experience a rich and full healing in the midst of ours.
