Colossians 1:11-14 Joyously Giving Thanks

...joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. [Colossians 1:11-14 NASB]

2 Chronicles tells of how Israel was conquered by Babylon;

All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete. [2 Chronicles 36:18-21 NASB]

It was the custom for a conquering army to relocate the population of the conquered kingdom. This is the image that Paul is conveying when he says that we have been transferred to "the kingdom of His beloved Son." Except, Paul is turning a negative image into a positive. The prince of darkness has been conquered, and we who were once his subjects, have been brought into the kingdom of Light.

We haven't been carried away as slaves. We have been made members of God's own household, and have been qualified to receive an inheritance.

The Bible says that it was "the Father, who has qualified us..." We have done nothing to qualify ourselves. We are receiving an inheritance, which is a gift; and not a wage. We cannot earn an inheritance.

In Him we have redemption. The word "redemption" means, "to effect deliverance, by means of paying a ransom". It was custom for destitute persons with a debt to be put into a debtors prison, where they would labor until they were able to pay their debt, or until somebody paid their debt for them. If the debt was extremely high, they would stay in prison until they died.

We owed a debt of sin that we could not pay. But God sent His Son, as a sacrifice, into the world. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross paid our debt in full. We owe Him everything.

Therefore, as the scripture says, we should be "joyously giving thanks to the Father." There is no other call to action today except to be thankful for all that God has done for us. He qualified us for an inheritance. He rescued us from darkness. And He redeemed us by the blood of Jesus.

Thank You, Father, that You have rescued us from darkness, and have brought us into Your light. Thank You that we share an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, together with all the saints. We magnify and glorify Your name.