Made Alive

Read: Colossians 2:8–15

When you were dead in your transgressions… 

He made you alive together with Him, 

having forgiven us all our transgressions.

Colossians 2:13

Have you ever promised yourself, “This time I’m going to change,” only to find yourself falling into the same old habits again? We try harder, make new promises, and depend on our own strength. Yet some things within us cannot be changed by willpower alone. Paul tells us that our deepest need is not simply to become better people—we need new life. And that is exactly what God gives us in Christ. The fullness of God lives in Jesus (Colossians 2:9), and in Him God came near to us. We could not save ourselves or make ourselves right with God. Yet God did for us what we could never do: He forgave us and made us alive with Christ (v. 13). Before we reached for God, He was already reaching for us.

We often try to overcome anger, fear, pride, bitterness, and other habits by making stronger promises. Richard Foster warns that this can become “will worship”—trusting our determination instead of depending on God. We may look good on the outside for a while, but our words and actions eventually reveal what is happening within our hearts. We cannot change our hearts by willpower alone. Jesus carried our sins to the cross, canceled the debt against us, and broke sin’s power (vv. 14–15). Grace does more than forgive us; it begins changing us from within.

The cross looked like defeat, but through it Christ won the victory and gave us new life. Yet God does not turn us into robots who can no longer choose wrongly. We still have choices to make and temptations to face, and sometimes we will fail. The difference is that sin no longer has to be our master. In Christ, we are free to choose a different way—to love, forgive, obey, and become more like Him. This is the wonder of God’s unlimited grace. Grace meets us when we fail, but it does not leave us where it found us. It forgives us, lifts us up, changes our hearts, and helps us begin again. We do not have to earn God’s love by trying harder. Before we ever reached for Him, He was already reaching for us. Unlimited grace is not permission to remain as we are; it is God’s continuing invitation and power to become who He created us to be—alive and free in Christ.

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for making us alive in Christ. Forgive us for depending on our own strength. Change our hearts by Your grace, free us from the power of sin, and help us live each day in the new life You have given us.

Amen.