Only One Answer

Scripture Reading — Colossians 2:8-15

Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
— Colossians 2:15

I read about a missionary walking through a vast temple who witnessed something deeply heartbreaking. Crowds of people— many of them poor and desperate—were bowing before a massive golden statue. They placed what appeared to be their meager earnings into a treasury box and knelt in earnest prayer, hoping to receive a blessing from the idol.

On the other side of the statue, scaffolding had been set up. The idol had begun to crumble, and a team of workers was repairing it. The scene struck the missionary with painful irony: broken people bowing to a broken statue, asking it to fix their broken lives—while others were busy working to fix the broken statue itself.

Though we might not see people bowing before physical idols much today, we live in a world that is just as desperate. Broken people still look to other broken people—and to broken substitutes for God—to do what only God can do. We place our hopes in success, relationships, wealth, technology, politics, and more—only to learn that these too are unreliable.

Paul reminds us that the only answer to our brokenness is that Jesus has triumphed over every destructive power and authority. Only his saving love can bring us from death to life and from despair to hope. This is the good-news message we are called to share with the nations.

Lord Jesus, we are often tempted to look for sources of help apart from you. Please forgive us and help us to see and experience your saving power. Amen.

Written by: Kevin DeRaaf