Colossians 1:13 (MSG)
"God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in..."
As a mother of four young children it is not a rarity that I find myself having to rescue one of my three boys or their little sister from a situation that could lead to danger. Running with scissors, jumping head first into the shallow end of gramma's pool, eating the end off of a pencil...ya know, those every day things us moms get to experience and some of us remember doing ourselves! I love the above verse in Colossians as I know children, especially my three boys, play act scenes of great imagination of being in dark dungeons and grueling situations with big hairy beasts. As I watch the innocence of my children in their pretend play I am reminded that as they grow older they will come to realize that life in the spiritual is truly a battle of good versus evil; For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. As a believer, one who has called on the name of the Lord to be saved, I can rest in knowing that Christ made a public spectacle of principalities and triumphed over them when He died on the cross. That same love I feel when I step in and intervene on behalf of my children's safety is what that took Jesus to the cross. He had a love so deep for us that He turned back to a place of danger to retrieve us - His beloved. That is true love. If there is something that you are trapped in right now, whether it is an addiction, a lifestyle, an inner anger that you can not shake, hurt from being rejected by someone who was supposed to love you unconditionally, let Jesus rescue from that dead-end alley, let Him love you right out of that dark dungeon. Tell Him right now that you are thankful for rescuing you and walk confidently in His love from this moment forward.
Other scripture references: Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15
