Colossians 1:19-22 (ESV)

“For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.”

Throughout our life, all of us will at one time or another, willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or not, fall into opposing groups. This situation occurs constantly in so many various and diverse ways. Most of the time the group you associate with may only be temporary.

You choose to be in that group until you change your mind. You are a huge supporter of a particular team or you are not. You believe God exists or you don’t. Sometimes you are born into a group without a choice. You may be born as a citizen of the United States or not.

There is however one group that everyone in the world is born into without a choice. You may not want to admit it, but we all are born imperfect. All of us will make mistakes. The Bible clearly tells us that we are all born in sin.

This condition is the result of the world’s first parents, Adam and Eve. They made a choice that caused all children to be born into the same consequence. Their rebellion produced separation from God. This sin condition is permanent. We are completely powerless to change the fact that we are sinners. No amount of effort can cause us to meet God’s standard of perfection. But God did something that completely changed our permanent situation.

These verses tell us that even though we may have chosen to take a position of hostility toward God, He has done an act of love that has changed us from being an enemy to being a friend. Even though we are far from perfect, He has made us holy, blameless and above reproach. There is only one way this is possible. God provided the one way when He sent His eternal Son to earth to become a man.

Jesus was born without an earthly father, the only human born without sin, without a death sentence and without separation from God. Jesus is the only one qualified to change the condition for all of us. Jesus became sin and paid the penalty for sin when He died on the cross. When we believe and personally receive Jesus by faith, God changes our position from enemy to friend, from sinner to holy. This is what God has done.

This week, spend time praising God for His love and goodness and thank Him for His gift of eternal life. If you have never accepted God’s gift by faith in Jesus, now is the perfect time to have God make you perfect in His eyes.