For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. (Colossians 1:19-23, NRSV)
“Provided you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel.”
Sounds upon first hearing as a standard by which none of us will get through. As long as you are always secure in your faith, never questioning, never shifting from the hope of the promises of the gospel.
Sounds like a hard road to travel. And if you take it as a command and an impossibility it is. We can not as humans remain steadfast in the faith. We are sinful and will fall away, yet if we hold to the hope of the gospel, that Jesus came to show us a way to live, because of His love for us. And the fact that the greatest love was for Him to lay down His life to show us that love. That hope will get us through even the deepest of doubt.
So hold tight to that hope and know that He loves you, and don’t let life shift you away from the hope of the gospel!
aSacredRebel 