DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2017
A SPIRITUAL BRIDGE
The Guinness World Record for the longest bridge in the world is the Danyang-Kushan Grand Bridge in China. Opened in 2011, it extends 102 miles over rice paddies and rivers. One section runs 5.6 miles over a lake! Sections of land once divided by water are now joined together.
Humanity needs a spiritual bridge to span the gap between us and God. Because of sin, our relationship with our Creator is broken. No amount of human wisdom or secular self-help can fix that problem (v. 8). Only the bridge of Jesus Christ can effectively restore our relationship with God. Through Him, “God made you alive” and “forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us” (vv. 13–14).
Jesus alone is able to bring such forgiveness and life because “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (v. 9). Because Jesus is both God and man, He is the connecting bridge between God and humanity. In Him, what had been separated by sin is joined together.
We are not required to undergo the physical act of circumcision in order to be God’s children. Instead, we have the circumcision of the heart that allows us to desire the Lord rather than be inclined only toward sin. Instead of circumcision, the practice of baptism publicly identifies us as Christ’s own: “Buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith” (v. 12).
Through our identity with the Godman Jesus, we have been “brought to fullness” (v. 9). Because of that reality, we are called to “continue to live your lives in Him” (v. 6).
APPLY THE WORD
Some people strive toward God by their own efforts, and others refuse to believe He is ever accessible. This Christmas, share the joyful news of freedom in Christ. He makes it possible for us to know God, and He frees us from the bondage of sin and guilt. Give thanks that He has bridged the gap between humanity and God!
Today in the Word is a production of Moody Global Ministries
