Reading Plan:
Colossians 1


Our Thoughts:
If you’re like me, you either grew up in church or at least in the Bible Belt, where every other radio station features an evangelist. It’s almost like the basics of Christianity are common knowledge in the South. Keep your bacon grease, say yes sir and yes ma’am, and don’t forget to say your blessing (in Jesus’ name) before you eat. The story of Jesus is certainly ingrained in our culture. If you’ve experienced any part of that culture, I’m sure you have heard someone preach about “Giving your burdens to Jesus.” For a lot of us who have become complacent during our time spent in the “church”, this phrase has become a cliché piece of Christian advice. We’ve grown numb to its meaning. I believe this is because we have forgotten how qualified Jesus really is to relieve us of these burdens.

If you went to see a doctor who had no education, experience, or even someone to vouch for them, I doubt that you would be able to trust them with something as important as your health. Think of how vital it is to know that you can trust Jesus with something as significant as your spirituality. In Colossians chapter one, God speaks through Paul to show the church that Jesus is one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man. What this means is that Jesus not only knows what it’s like to carry the burdens so many of us carry, but he also has the power to take those burdens and turn them into something good.

Read over verse fifteen again. Jesus Christ is the Son of the Creator of the entire universe. He is God made visible and willingly vulnerable. This verse alone reassures us of Jesus’ authority over not just what burdens us, but the entirety of creation. The same God who is big enough to create life from an endless void gifted us His only Son made in HIS likeness. Quite literally God in the flesh. We see more of this as we continue reading the chapter.

“He is before all things and in Him, all things hold together. Colossians 1:17”

Jesus is the glue that keeps this world from tearing itself apart. If He is responsible for holding the whole universe together, how much more prepared do you think He is to keep our burdens from tearing us apart? Let’s keep reading.

“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. Colossians 1:19-20”

First, we see that the entire fullness of God desires to dwell IN Jesus. When I read this verse, I think of the few times when I have practiced just enough self-control at the dinner table to only eat the perfect portion of food. When that happens, I leave the table feeling satisfied and desiring nothing. Can you imagine how holy and righteous Jesus must be for God to be completely satisfied with him? Jesus was so perfect that the entire spiritual awareness and knowledge of God found it desirable to live within him. We read a little bit further in this section and see that the fullness of God lived both in and through Jesus so that He alone was able to make the perfect sacrifice for our redemption on the cross. Through that cross, Jesus gave us a choice to make. One option is that we can lay our burdens down at the foot of the cross in exchange for the peace of Jesus Christ in our lives. What this means is that our faith in Christ allows us to be confident that Jesus is more than able to take our burdens and turn them into blessings.


More Questions:
• How are you pursuing your relationship with Jesus?
• Do you find it hard to give your burdens to Jesus? If so, why?
• When are you making time to pray about your burdens, and how you can better trust Jesus with them?


Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, for your ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for taking the sins and burdens of the entire world on yourself so that we may enjoy the peace that your cross delivers. Remind us daily that we have you as an advocate to the Father on our behalf. Remind us also that your grace and mercy know no boundaries past our faith in you. Amen.


Author: Bailey Woods