April 15 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the beginning of a new life for all believers. It's also the pledge of our resurrection (1 Cor. 15). The study of Colossians is part of this month's meditations on the meaning of the resurrection.

Bible Reading:

Colossians 1: 15–20

Bible Text:

God was pleased ... through him to reconcile to himself all things ... by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross Col. 1:19–20).

Devotional:

Sin brought disorder and rebellion into human lives and into the fallen world, and our rebellion roused God's anger. The old world and the good God were therefore alienated. But the sacrifice of Jesus has had a healing effect.

It pleased God to reconcile all things to himself through Jesus' blood. The created world, disintegrated by sin, is restored through the atoning sacrifice that covered all sin. And Christ, the heir of the world, is the heart and harmony of creation (v. 17). Outside of Christ, the world falls apart. But in him and by his work, the cosmos is a God-friendly place where nothing and no one threatens the newfound peace.

The new order is the pax Christi, the peaceful situation under the rule of Christ. Nothing in the whole universe—"whether things on earth or things in heaven"—falls outside of the peaceful order restored in Christ.

We know that this pax Christi. this pacification of the universe, is not yet completed (Rom. 8). But in principle it's done. Nothing in this world can really harm us. At heart, the course and direction of this world have been turned. We will see the restored universe when the last fruit of Golgotha has been harvested.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.