Transferred

“For He has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,”   Colossians 1:13 

Transferred – The word (metestasen) is formed from a Greek compound of two words, the first meaning a change in place or condition and the second meaning to place or stand.  The idea behind this compound Greek word takes its context from the second part of the compound – to place or stand.  Being able to place something or someone expresses power.  Throughout the Bible, God is recognized as the active agent placing people and circumstances in arrangement with His purposes.  The meaning ‘to stand’ recalls the obedience of Christ, who withstood temptations and who stands before the Father as our advocate.  There are many theological uses of the idea of standing that apply to God’s children.  They have right standing before Him (righteousness), they are able to stand in the face of trials and temptations, they stand fast in prayer, they stand firm on the belief in God’s Son.  This rich context is incorporated in the word “transferred”.  Here in this verse, God changes our place from the domain of darkness to right standing before Him in His kingdom.  All of this is accomplished because of the work of Christ.

As Christians, we have experienced the release from bondage to darkness.  God has accomplished this for us.  But this verse tells us that “transfer” is not just a freedom from destruction but a transfer to a new way of standing.  We have been moved from death to life.  We can stand with our faces looking up, grateful and joyful.

Children often give us the best pictures of spiritual insights.  They have not yet been un-educated from the purity of trust.  When a child has something important to share, they often stand with joyful faces, bursting to tell their story.  Do we have the same joyful exuberance when we tell the story of our transfer from the shadows of our world of secrets to the light of His kingdom?  Jesus says it takes the attitude of a child to stand in God’s place.  God grant me today an opening in my soul that expresses the joy of my transfer.  I am standing in a new place.