… forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Summary: Today’s passage is for many the heart of the Gospel message: In Christ, we are forgiven for the things we have done to hurt others, offend God, and that ultimately wound our own souls.
— that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Summary: This meditation takes an unusual turn. When Paul talks about us being “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God,” we have to wonder, “What does that leave room for?”
Summary: The Hebrew word for “forgive” is a word that describes physically lifting a burden up and taking it away. This is a perfect description of what God does for us when we go to him for forgiveness.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
Summary: In this meditation, we transition into a discussion of heaven. Interestingly, Jesus’ construction of the first two words of the prayer prepares us for understanding what heaven is all about.
Jesus said, ‘’For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘’What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, ‘’If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
The prophet Isaiah quotes God as saying:
”As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
This verse comes to mind as I ponder the meaning of Jesus’ words. It seems to me he is speaking metaphorically about blindness and sight, but he has also just healed a blind man and so he illustrates his point literally.
Do you ever wonder what God does with his spare time? I mean sure, He created the universe and all that is in it, and he keeps the whole thing running day in and day out. He also hears everyone’s prayers and keeps busy answering prayer and giving prophets things to say. All of these things tell us who God is and inform us about God. But does he do more?
Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’