Colossians 2
This poem has two forms, a full version that touches on every verse in Colossians 2 and a shorter one that highlights a few points in the chapter. For the short version, read only the stanzas in bold type.
We’re fighting for the faith of those
We don’t see face to face,
That each would have a heart that knows
The goodness of God’s grace.
And being unified in love,
Their hearts would be assured
Of Christ, the mystery from above,
The true and living Word.
In Him all treasures are obtained,
All knowledge is compiled,
In Him, all power and wisdom gained,
That we not be beguiled.
Fine arguments are often made
Whose goal is to destroy,
But trusting that our faith won’t fade,
Our spirits fill with joy.
The faith we had when we received
Christ Jesus as our Rock,
That helped us when we first believed,
In that same faith we walk.
In Christ we’re rooted in the ground,
In Him we are built up,
With thankfulness our hearts abound,
He overflows our cup.
By empty doctrines don’t be fooled,
And worldly ways of thought.
Their rules, by vain tradition schooled,
Are not what Jesus taught.
The fulness of the godhead lives
In Jesus’ earthy frame,
And we’re complete through what He gives
To those who trust His Name.
He, as the Head, with power commands,
He fills us to the brim,
And in a way not done with hands,
We’re circumcised in Him.
The circumcision of the heart
That separates our sins
Is ours in Jesus from the start,
In Him our life begins.
With Christ in baptism to the grave,
And out of it we’re led,
By faith in God who works to save,
And raises from the dead.
Though we were dead, Christ makes us live
With resurrection force.
Because of Him, God can forgive
And set aright our course.
The violations charged to us,
By which we were in debt,
Were nailed with Jesus to the cross,
And they’re no more a threat.
The principalities were foiled
When Jesus rose again.
Disarmed, their strategies were spoiled –
He triumphed over them.
So don’t let people judge your ways
In what you drink and eat,
Or what you do for holidays,
Or on what day you meet.
To feasts and shadows don’t succumb.
They never have sufficed.
They’re meant to picture things to come.
The substance is in Christ.
And don’t be robbed of your reward
By false humility
That worships angels, not the Lord,
And pious fantasy.
In angel worship people stray
From what our God designed,
And giving visions too much sway
Reveals a carnal mind.
When men to these have turned aside,
They don’t hold fast the Head.
Puffed up with overweening pride,
They trust themselves instead.
The body must remain intact
For nourishment to flow.
Together Head and body act,
And God will make it grow.
In Christ we’re dead to worldly forms,
So why should we submit
To regulations, rules, and norms,
Like we belong to it?
When earthly-minded people cry,
“Don’t handle, touch, or taste,”
To temporal things their words apply
That fade and get displaced.
These doctrines may seem good and wise
Because they are austere,
But they’re a show for worldly eyes,
And not what they appear.
They have no power to control
Propensity to sin,
Or give that victory to the soul
That faith in Christ will win.
Nita Brainard
Photo by Dean Zhang on Unsplash
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