"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace though the blood of his cross." - Colossians 1.15-20

     Donald English shares an intriguing story which is quoted in Maxie Dunnam’s commentary on Colossians. “In Birmingham, England, there is a store called Lewis’s. It is a great chain store in one of the main streets, and wanted to extend. Right in the way of the extension was a little chapel of the Quakers, a Friends' meeting house. Lewis's sent a letter to the leaders of the Friends' meeting house saying, "Dear Sirs, We wish to extend our premises. We see that your building is right in the way. We wish, therefore, to buy your building and demolish it so that we might extend our store. We will pay you any price you care to name. If you’ll name a price we will settle the matter as quickly as possible. Yours sincerely."

     They got a letter back by reply which said, "Dear Sirs: We in the Friends' meeting house note the desire of Lewis's to extend. We observe that our building is right in the way. We would point out, however, that we have been on our site somewhat longer than you have been on yours, and we are determined to stay where we are. We are so determined to stay where we are that we will happily buy Lewis's. If, therefore, you would like to name a suitable price we will settle the matter as quickly as possible. Signed, Cadbury." Here is the clincher. The Cadburys are the great chocolate-making, candy-making people in England. They have an enormous spread of business all over the country and the Cadburys are Quakers. They could very well have bought Lewis's many times over. The point is that it is not the size of the building that counts, but who signs the letter." ¹

     In Colossians 1.15-20 Paul reminds us who "signs the letter" in our relationship with God — Jesus Christ. The phrases used in this passage seem to build upon each other with a crescendo until the multifaceted nature of Jesus' being is reflected in all of its glory. In my November articles we will take a closer look at the mighty nature of Christ, the one who calls us, sanctifies us, redeems us, and invites us to partner with him in his great work in this world and on into eternity. Our study will be an amazing reminder of the one who "signs the letter" of our lives.

     ¹Dunnam, Maxie, D. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. The Communicator’s Commentary, Lloyd Ogilvie, ed., Word Books, Publisher, 1982, pp. 352-353.