From Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. 21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25 I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
I had such fun on youth trips as a youth. It was always an adventure to leave home with kids my age to go to another town or city for a district or conference retreat or gathering. And on one such trip, our president, an older girl, said, "Now remember, the first rule is to follow all the rules. Rule number two is to follow rule number one!" And we all laughed. She went on to explain that one of her teachers had once shared in one of her classes and that has always stayed with me as I'm sure with her.
This is Paul saying the same, Jesus is central to our faith. We cannot forget Who and What Jesus is to us. We have before us a wonderful list of just Who our savior is. The first is that Jesus represented in visible form the invisible God. Jesus was the first born of all creation. We affirm that in Jesus all things created, both in heaven and on earth were created. Yes, including those things we have not yet seen on this realm. And that includes all who are in authority through all the ages, including kings and rulers of power. They were created by Him and for Him. Jesus is the head of the church. His life showed that through Jesus we have victory over sin and especially over death, thus Jesus' being known as the "firstborn from the dead." And this comes to serve as the reason we should place Jesus in first place in all things, especially our lives. The person of Jesus was for humanity an understanding of the complete God, serving to bring about reconciliation with us and God. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross is what should bring us peace from the things that used to disturb us. All who have been separated from God should find in Jesus that invitation back to the fulness of life. No matter our sin, we are always welcome back. Jesus came and continues to serve as He who can wash us of our sins and uncleanness to make us "holy and blameless" before God. The Gospel should be our anchor in our faith, the root of our hopefulness. And the Gospel should be shared with all people (Paul says "every creature under heaven"). And Paul closes this section by stating again the reason why he is a servant of the gospel and why the sufferings he has endured count as nothing compared to what is coming. He knew he and we need to make God better known and accepted, using whatever method we can to reach all. The goal, according to Paul, is for one day we can "present everyone mature in Christ."
Examine your life and tell yourself honestly what is the "main thing" thus far. I know we have a list of main things and if it's not Jesus, then here's our task; make Jesus the main thing. Everything else, honestly, will pale in comparison.
PRAYER: Dear God, I borrow the word of a precious hymn as my prayer. "Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me; place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclapse and set me free. Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see. Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine. Open my mouth, and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere; Open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share." This I ask in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
