January 10 | Colossians 2:8-15

---

DAILY READING

Colossians 2:8-15

---

REFLECTION

The Head Over Every Power and Authority

By Carmel Elmer

As a Saturday devotional writer, before I write I like to read the passages for the week in succession and reflect on how they connect with one another and with the heading for the week.   This week’s heading is “In the Shadow of the Cross” and the readings focus on discerning the difference between the wisdom & authority of this world and that of God in the wake of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. 

When Paul was writing his letters to the newly formed Christian churches, there was a great deal of conflict and debate over whose authority the people were under.   New Christians, some Jewish, some Gentile, some Pegan were challenged to let go of the old religious practices that they formerly believed would earn them God’s favor and provision.  In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he reinforces the need to focus on Jesus and not the rules and religious traditions of the past.  In verse 10 of today’s passage, he reminds them, “…in Christ you have been brought to fullness.  He is the head over every power and authority.”     

I believe that, but if I get too plugged in to the news or my news feed, it can feel as though my life and well-being are under the control of human authority.

I have a very dear, lifelong friend who is struggling deeply with these questions.  Her life, once full and prosperous, has been in a downward spiral for several years.  She is overwhelmed by a chronic illness that has caused her to leave her medical practice and live on disability, and her anxiety and fear over what this means for her future have left her feeling hopeless.  Her marriage is failing.  She is angry with her husband, our country, and those who lead it; and she holds them responsible for her failing health.  She is focused on all that is wrong in the world, and she has uttered the words, “I can’t forgive” more times than I can count.  It breaks my heart!  I thought about her when I read through this week’s readings and it occurred to me that she is allowing the wrong power and authority to rule her life and her reaction to the challenges she has been facing.  She has put so much faith in worldly power and authority that she cannot get past feeling that EVERYONE has let her down.  I just wish she would unplug and surrender to the TRUE authority over her life.

For many of us, living in the shadow of the cross is likely not a matter of letting go of legalistic traditions like it was for the early Jewish converts to Christianity, but of understanding what it really means to be made alive with Christ (vs. 13).  HE is in charge!  In Thursday’s passage from Jeremiah 9 these words spoke to me: “I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth” ( vs. 24)

Who is the authority governing your life?  I ask you to pray for my dear friend and anyone who, like her, may be placing their hope and allegiance in anything other than our kind, just and righteous God.  May we all, living in the shadow of the cross, recognize the true authority in our life and place our trust in His sovereign control.

PRAYER

Father, as we begin a new year, help us look to You and Your word as we discern right from wrong, justice from inequity, and true righteousness from religious facade.  Help us to resist trusting in the wrong authority and remember that YOU are the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.  May we never allow anything or anyone to take your rightful place in governing our lives.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CARMEL ELMER

I have attended UALC for nearly 25 years, but faith has always been at the center of my life. My mom was an incredible role model, demonstrating a trust in God that surpassed any circumstance. I will always be grateful for her incredible example of faith, and I pray that one day, my children will say the same about me.