My Enemy, My Friend

Read Colossians 1:21-2:7

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your
minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled
you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you
holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
(Colossians 1:21-22)

Thoughts… My arch-enemy in the second grade was a kid named Delmer. He was the biggest, meanest, scariest guy in our class…a real bully. And I had the brains to get into a fight with him one day.

Actually, it wasn’t much of a fight. He claimed I stole his big red rubber ball at recess; I had just “innocently” picked it up when it came rolling my way. He accused me of of being a ball theif and I defended my second-grade honor. Punches were exchanged: he hit me in the stomach and I hit him in the stomach, the bell rang, recess was over, and so was the fight—if you want to call it one. Or so I thought…

After school that day Delmer and two of his no-good lackeys confronted me on my way home. Words were exchanged, as were a few more ineffective punches to the mid-section, and we went our separate ways. Then I made the critical error of picking up a rock and heaving it, accompanied by some choice words, at Delmer and his buddies as they were walking away. That caused a barrage of rocks to come back my way.

One of those rocks, about the size of a baseball, caught me right on the chin, which caused a great deal of pain and discomfort, along with some blood. I ran home, told my mom the whole story (from my point of view of course), who then took me right back to school and into the headmaster’s office where I again gave my account of the story.

The next day at school, Delmer and his buddies were summarily marched into the office where the board of education was swiftly and forcefully applied to the seat of knowledge. To add insult to Delmer’s injury, my older brother caught up with him not long after and threw him into an irrigation ditch, finishing what I and the principle didn’t. Delmer never bothered me again.

That encounter way back in the second grade left me with a scar that is still visible to me today. I see it every time I look into the mirror to shave. It is a constant reminder of the fact that I offended someone, that I didn’t handle conflict very well. And it led to severe pain in my life. It is a constant reminder of an unpleasant experience.

Each of us has scars—unpleasant reminders of painful times in our lives. But the biggest, ugliest scar in our lives, whether visible or not, is the scar that sin has left. Sin always leaves scars. Sometimes they’re physical, sometimes they’re emotional, but always they’re spiritual—ugly scars that remind us of our past failures and the consequences that resulted.

I want to suggest a new way of looking at your scars, whether they’re visible or invisible: Those sin-scars can become positive reminder of the wonderful work of reconciliation that has taken place in our lives. I would even go so far as to challenge you, if you have a physical scar, a visible reminder of past pain, to now use that as a constant reminder, not of the failure of your sin, but of the victory in Christ that has come out of your past failure. Every time you look at that scar or you feel remorse or you cry over an injury, remember that God has brought victory out of sin.

In yesterday’s blog, I suggested that we need to live with a big God mentality. One of the areas that is hardest for us to adopt this big God mentality is in the area of personal sin. When we live under fear and guilt and condemnatione, we are acting like our sin is the one area where God just isn’t big enough.

Paul is reminding us that because of a great Scriptural truth called reconciliation we don’t have to live under that awful load. When you grasp the doctrine of reconciliation, you can begin to live with a big God mentality in the area of personal sin. Colossians 1:20-23 says,

“…And God, through Jesus, reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight and without blemish and free from accusation–if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

The key idea here is reconciliation. This is one of five key Divine actions that took place at the cross in order to secure your salvation. It would be good for you to understand these five:

Justification: The sinner stands before God guilty and condemned, but is declared righteous. Romans 8:33 says “Who can bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.” Christ has made us just as if we had never sinned as we stand before God.

Redemption: The sinner stands before God as a slave, but is granted freedom. Romans 6:18 & 22 says “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness… But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Your freedom was paid for in Christ’s blood.

Forgiveness: The sinner stands before God as a debtor, but the debt is paid and forgotten. Ephesians 1:7 says “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” Your sin-debt has been paid in full. It was charged to Christ’s account.

Adoption: The sinner stands before God as a stranger, but is made a son. Ephesians 1:5 says “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and his will…” You were once an outcast but now you are a treasured child.

Reconciliation: The sinner stands before God as an enemy, but becomes a friend. II Corinthians 5:17-20 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Your enemy has now become your best friend.

In my opening story, one of Delmer’s buddies was a guy named Jay. Jay received the principle’s paddle along with Delmer for hitting me with the rock. Actually, Jay was the guy who threw the rock that did the damage. But somehow, for some reason, Jay and I were reconciled through that encounter. And Jay and I were not just reconciled, we became closest friends through our growing up years. We were inseparable all the way through childhood.

We who were once enemies now stood as friends. That’s a picture of reconciliation. That’s what happened when Jesus died for you. He has the scars to prove it. And so do you. His scars were for your sins. Your sin-scars can become a reminder of what he did for you.

Next time you look at that scar (or feel it in your mind), rather than remembering the pain and disappointment it brought, think of the reconciliation that has occurred between God and you.

Prayer… Lord Jesus, thank you for bearing my sin in your body on the tree. I sometimes fall back into feelings of guilt for things I have done, but today, I choose to look at those things as a reminder that I have been reconciled to God and have been brought near to him. All that is due to you, and I gratefully praise you for that.

One More Thing… “Most Christians are being crucified on a cross between two thieves: Yesterday’s regret and tomorrow’s worries.” —Warren Wiersbe

Don’t re-die for that which Christ already died!