Christ Is All

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or rulers or powers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.”  Colossians 1:15-16

According to my calculations, there are approximately 78 references to Jesus Christ by Paul in his letter to the church at Colossae. With just 4 chapters, and a total of 95 verses (25 of which were the greeting and the closing), that computes to Christ being mentioned an average of every 1.21 verses.

A survey was done at the beginning of the 21^st Century of the Christian Book Association’s Top 100 books. The survey showed that of these 100 top sellers, only 4 were about Christ…and only 6 were about the Bible. The majority was about relationships, parenting, and self-help.

Do you see the contrast? The message to the early Church was saturated with Jesus Christ. He was the focus. And now, well…just walk into any bookstore, even a Christian one, and you will see shelves full of books that focus on “the Christian life” with little if any focus on Christ. These books claim to be “Christian,” yet most reference Christ merely as a means to an end, with the end being joy, or peace, or happiness, or a great marriage, or godly children, or social justice, or your best life now.  Somehow, we have managed to make Christianity about us.

I want to challenge you with this question: On what is your heart fixed? What is your chief occupation in life? Whatever your heart is fixed on will come out of your mouth.  Luke 6:45 says that, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” So what topics fill your conversations? For some, it may be fixed on something that isn’t spiritual at all. But my guess is that most of us have our hearts fixed on good things, maybe even godly things. Maybe your heart’s passion is evangelism, church activities or ministry, Bible Study, women’s or men’s ministry, small groups, memorizing Scripture, theology, social justice, missions, or praise and worship. These are all good things…but that’s just it…they are “things.” They are “its.” And it is these things that fill our bookshelves, and many times, our calendars. We have swung so far from the time that Paul wrote this epistle that much of our focus is an “it” instead of a “Him.” The result of this imbalance is that we focus on “things” – even good and religious things – and the Lord Jesus is pushed into a corner.

Father, You are the beginning, the end, and everything in between. Your glory is the desire of my heart, and yet I allow myself to become weighed down by trivial things. Please help me to keep my heart focused on You alone so that my life is lived for Christ’s glory, and for the sake of His Gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.