Read: Colossians 1:15-29
. . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. (v. 27)
Our condo has a small piece of dirt, maybe 15 square feet, that’s ours to plant flowers in. My neighbors create breathtaking displays in their little gardens; mine is always an exercise in mediocrity. I have no gardening skills. Last summer I planted two types of daisies. Within days, rabbits had nibbled one type to its roots, never to recover. The other—gerbera daisies—flourished all summer despite my lackadaisical efforts. They just kept blooming.
When I think of what it means to live with hope in a world that seems to be coming apart, I think those gerbera daisies are trying to tell me something: just keep blooming. Keep blooming regardless of where you are planted. Paul makes the reason we should do so plain in Colossians 1—Christ in you is the hope of glory, a “mystery hidden for ages and generations” but now being revealed (v. 27).
As I have been saying, our hope is that there’s a better world coming in the new creation. That hope should not lead us to abuse or disregard this world, even when its problems seem unresolvable. We simply cannot know what God is up to when change is everywhere and institutions we’ve relied on are crumbling. Our hope, as I’ve said, is not in any human thing, but in God: Father, Son, and Spirit, Creator of heaven and earth. When we bloom, we radiate hope to those around us. May Christ in you, the hope of glory, shine today and every day. —Jeff Munroe
As you pray, thank God for the mystery of the ages.
About the Author
Jeff Munroe is the editor of the Reformed Journal and, in addition to being the author of the best-selling book Reading Buechner: Exploring the Work of a Master Memoirist, Novelist, Theologian, and Preacher, is also a poet, blogger, and essayist. His work has appeared in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, US Catholic, and The Reformed Journal.
