Who is the Main Actor in the Story?

Scripture passage that caught my attention today: Colossians 2:13-14 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.

Observation: God is the main actor in this story.

Application: It’s human nature to want to take credit for things, to feel like we are fulfilling an important role. Indeed, people who claim to be disciples of Jesus do have important roles to fill. But those roles nothing more (or less!) than natural responses to what God has already done for us.

Notice the grammar in the passage above. God is the subject of the sentences and God the subject acts.

God made you alive.
[God] forgave us.
[God] erased the record that stood against us.
[God] set [the record against us] aside.
[God] nailed [the record against us] to the cross.

Yes, both grammatically and practically speaking, God is the main subject of the Scriptures and the Scriptures present this God as one who takes action for the sake of all humanity.

At least three of God’s actions are definitive for all time. 1) the fullness of God became human in the form of Jesus. 2) this Jesus died for the sake of all humanity. 3) this Jesus rose again, proving that death no longer has the final say for him or for us.
In a few weeks Christians around the world will celebrate the first of these definitive actions—the fullness of God coming to earth in the form of a vulnerable child. Even so, there will be tendencies among us to miss the point. We will at times want to take credit for our generosity, for our thoughtfulness. We will receive gifts from others and be tempted to think that we are deserving of such things.

Hardly. What we deserve is to be nailed to a cross. Through Christ, however, that has already been done. What’s left is simply the opportunity to express our profound thanksgiving through lives of generous and humble service.

Prayer: People who live with a profound sense of thanksgiving are the salt of the earth. Help us to sprinkle your world with joy and delight for all that you have done. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Colossians 1-4)