“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col. 1:13 NKJ).

In the Greek, this word translated is methistemi (meth-is’- tay-mee) meaning “to transpose, transfer, remove from one place to another.” Our conversion literally lifted us out of the quicksand of sin and placed us on the solid rock of truth.

One of the most impressive features of this translation from darkness to light is the suddenness of it all. I remember a testimony I heard in a Christian drug recovery unit. The young man was 26 years old. For 13 of those years, or half his life, he had been a heroin addict. Now he was an outstanding leader in the drug program.

He was giving his testimony to a narcotics agent who seemingly could not comprehend the translation from addiction to deliverance. The officer asked him, “How long did all this take?” The answer came back, “It only took about two minutes. When Jesus came in, the drugs went out.”

We cannot argue a person into change. We cannot nag, harangue, pressure, or even manipulate anybody into a transformation of his whole life. The good news is that Jesus is still translating thousands of lives every day. Every time a new convert comes into the kingdom of God, a genuine translation takes place.

Another word for translate is transpose. In music to transpose is “to change to another key.” Before salvation we were in a minor key and our life’s song was a sad one. Now we are in a major key and our song is one of joy. The transposing of our life gives us a different tune to sing! The Bible calls it a new song! (Rev. 5:9).