“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1.27).

Woke up this morning with this verse and Psalm 103 running through my head. And so I present them to you, letting the text speak for itself. Take some time and reflect on the text. Let God speak to you through it, reminding you of his great love for you and his wondrous grace offered to you through Christ so that you can enjoy a life-giving and life-changing relationship with him, now and for all eternity. Then stop and give thanks for God’s great love for you, even during those times when you are thoroughly unlovable. O give thanks to the LORD for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 106.1)

Christ in you, the hope of glory. [He] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 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—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

–Adapted from Colossians 1.15-23a, 27 and Psalm 103 (NIV)