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I Can't Think Of A Worse Place To Be!

Alienated - I’m not sure I can think of a worse place to be!

By definition, it is to experience feelings of isolation or estrangement.  It is also to make unfriendly, hostile, or indifferent especially where attachment formerly existed.

I think lots of people are feeling very alienated these days.  I couldn’t even begin to list all the ways and I won’t even attempt to consider all the possible causes.  But I will say that it is not something new.  More importantly, I will say that there is one area where being alienated is a matter of life and death!

“Beware sinful nation, the people weighed down by evil deeds. They are offspring who do wrong, children who do wicked things. They have abandoned the Lord, and rejected the Holy One of Israel. They are alienated from him.”  (Isa 1:4)

 “Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you.  But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.”  (Isa 59:1-2)

 “They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.”  (Eph 4:18)

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”  (Col 1:21)

Being alienated from God really is a matter of life and death.  To be clear, it is a matter of spiritual life and death.

But notice that Paul specifically said that the Colossians were once alienated from God.  In this case, once really was just that, once, as in at one time.  Verse 22 sheds light on why Paul references “once”:  “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…”  We can be reconciled to God and no longer alienated because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross!

To the Ephesians, Paul wrote this: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Eph 2:19)

Fellow citizens and members of the household of God are no longer aliens but people who are reconciled to God...now that is the place to be! 

 

 

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