Reflecting on Colossians 1:19-20, NT Wright notes that the incarnation and cross were not “undertaken with reluctance or merely because there was no other course.  God not only acted in this way: he ‘took pleasure’ in doing so.”

Much popular atonement theology suggests otherwise: The conflict between God’s mercy and justice puts Him in a tight spot, which He resolves by sending His Son to receive the penalty for us.  Jesus is God-as-substitute for sinners, but our formulations often suggest that God was forced into the atonement.

As Barth liked to emphasize, God remains Lord even in His revelation, the incarnation.  Even – especially – here, He acts according to His good pleasure.