Colossians 1:15-23 (NLT)
Christ Is Supreme
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[e]
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.[f]
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[e]
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.[f]
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet
now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his
physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence,
and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single
fault.
23 But
you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t
drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.
The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have
been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.In December I was able to see an area of my life where I make war with God, not peace. I thanked Him for helping me see it and I asked God to help me understand why I make that choice. I asked God to help me to surrender to His love and rightful place of supremacy in my life.
This is one of the ways I have noticed God helping me. I increasingly crave including God throughout my day. I've long desired to include Him in my evenings. I'm a morning person so this has not come naturally or easily to me. I'm learning that evening conversations with God can be different from morning conversations. Many believers throughout the centuries have discovered this and have written about it. I'm grateful for their insights. The Lord has brought something that will be helpful to me this year. It is a book called A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God by Job, Shawchuck and Mogabgab. I have both a paper copy and an electronic copy and therefore always available to me no matter the time of day.
It was in reading that book this week that I discovered the verses above. I'm grateful for how perfectly this passage speaks into my realization that I don't want to be a war with God. In Christ that is possible. Isn't that amazing?! My soul is encouraged by remembering this truth. Being at war with God is a one sided choice. He is not at war with me.
In this new year, how is God leading you? What is He making you aware of? How is He providing for your developing relationship with Him? May we all have responsive hearts and minds.
