Colossians 1:12

"Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." ESV

I had this reference written on my hand for two days in order to remind myself to look into it. Not the whole verse, but rather one word. "qualified." I didn't like that word. It rubbed me wrong. After the hundreds of times (literally) I have read Colossians, this is the first time that one word seemed to jump off the page at me. Why did it bother me? I couldn't say at the time, so I let it sink it and left the verse on my hand. The pen started to fade, so I re-wrote it, knowing I had put it there for a reason, but being crazy me, had forgotten why.
After reaching the point of brain mushness, but not exhaustion, doing homework, I decided to read my Bible for a while before bed. God kept telling me go back to Colossians, so I did and the verse being in the first chapter was reminded why I needed to read Colossians again. In context the verses says:

"May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light." 

Okay, so what's wrong with the word "qualified"? I still didn't know, but it definitely still bothered me. So I took another course of action and decided to see what other translations said, in hopes that one of them changed it to a word I liked better. (Not that me liking the word was the point, but at least a word that explained it in a way that made more sense.) English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, and New International Version all use the same word there. The verse is actually almost word-for-word in all three of those translations. After this research being very unsatisfying, I wrote down all my questions on a post-it note, stuck it inside my Bible and went to sleep, knowing I would come back to it when I could. 

BACKGROUND: For those of you who don't know. Languages are my thing. I love them. I soak languages in and am always striving to learn more. My latest craze of a language has been French, and it's actually coming along quite nicely. I found that the easiest way to learn for me is to read books, so for Christmas I asked for a French Bible, which my amazing grandparents got for me. It is an amazing tool to help when in a situation like I am currently explaining. 

The next morning, I got out my French Bible and it satisfied me much more, but I still couldn't tell you why the French was more satisfying than the English, when it was basically saying the same thing. 

"Rendered capable to be a part of the royal inheritance."  

Okay, admit it. It sounds cooler. But I realized that is why I liked it better. Because of how it sounds. Literally translated from the Greek (which I don't know how to read, so I have to trust others on that one) the verse does not say "qualified." It says "made to fit". Yes, it is a subtle difference, if there is one in your head at all between those two phrases. 

"Qualified" makes it sound like a game to me. "You qualify." Yippee? It also makes it sound like something I did. I didn't die on a cross. I didn't pay for my sins. Why should I get any credit for this? This answer is, I shouldn't. The word "qualify" makes it seem like somehow I should. Yes, I do see that it says the Father qualified us, but it still has a strange ring to it. Even coming straight from the Greek, "made to fit" doesn't sound quite right either. God didn't say "Well, this person is one of mine, so I'll just sort of tweek a few things to make this work." No, God took this very seriously. He sent His only Son to die a brutal and horrible death so that His people could be united with Him again. That doesn't sound like a game to me. 

I fully believe the French says it best. God rendered us capable to be in His kingdom. We were not able to be a part of His kingdom until Jesus died on the cross and rose again. It was impossible. But God made it possible. He rendered it possible. That doesn't mean that everyone is saved though. He rendered us capable. Not everyone will believe, but it is a possibility now. Especially to those outside of Israel. 

I have been leaving out the next verse until now on purpose. Colossians 1:13 clears everything up and makes that one little word not so significant. It adds to the seriousness of the situation and clarifies what the intent of verse 12 is. 

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." ESV 

Praise be to God! 

P.S. (to those who will understand "But how did he make the transfer?!?!" and to the rest who have no idea what this means, it's okay. It's an inside joke. :D)