What does it mean to be a child of God? For far too many of us, it’s simply a designation that doesn’t seem to match the reality of our daily lives. Our actions tend to reflect a different reality. But in Colossians 1:15-23, Paul encourages us to see ourselves the way God does: As holy and blameless, without a single fault. Hard to believe? No doubt about it. What Paul declares us to be in Christ doesn’t seem to gel with how we behave in real life. But the point he is trying to get across is that our standing before God has little to do with us, and everything to do with Christ. He is the source of our righteous standing, not us. It was His death that satisfied the just demands of a holy God. He paid the price required to settle our sin debt with God. Jesus, the creator of all things, subjected Himself to live as a man, taking on human flesh and dying a sinner’s death, all so that we might be reconciled to God. And as a result, we are members in good standing of God’s family.