WATCHWORD
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14
Meditation
Nailed it!
The 13-year-old stood at the microphone, straight, calm and confident, but declared with a smile that the deep breath he took to relax did not clear his nervousness. The audience held its collective breath, especially the young man’s parents, there on the front row. He’d been here before, in 2024 when he was runner-up, now it was for the whole Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship. His word: “ECLAIRCISSMENT”. Faizan Zaki, smiled as the word was read, then without hesitation, he proceeded to spell it, becoming the 2025 national champion. He nailed it!
Can you imagine his relief? How about the elation of his parents? And I can only imagine the cheer that went up from his Texas Middle School classmakes who undoubtedly had been ‘coaching’ a little over the year of preparation. “Fazian is National Champion!!”
Colossians 2:14. By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, Jesus set all of that aside, nailing it to the cross. He nailed it for us! Our sins, right there on the cross of Calvary.
We tend to think of the scene on Calvary as an unthinkable occurrence, a travesty, the end of a dream, the death of our hero. We tend to miss two things: Jesus is the one doing the nailing on the cross. While it is true that he allowed the Roman soldiers to pin him down and nail his body to the wooden frame cross, it is also true that ultimately Jesus was in control of the entire situation.
I think the depth of that scene is minimized as we have dramatized the occurrence. Here is the creator of the universe, creator of each, and every one of us, every Roman soldier, all those among the Jewish hierarchy that pushed for this, it was not at the whim of political current; it was an act of God.
The scene on Calvary was gigantic, earth-shaking, clearly an act of God. Then, a much smaller scene is played out within our own hearts and minds, still earth-shaking, yet, clearly an act of God within our own lives, as we live fully committed to our Lord, the Master of the Universe. So be it with each one of us.
Let’s Pray:
Gracious Heavenly Father, in our daily walk may we always honor you and follow your commands, Lord. You have wiped the slate clean of our sins, help us to get that through our sometimes thick heads and become more like the Child of God that you have made us. In Jesus name. Amen.
