Thought for August 9, 223

• 1483: Sistine Chapel opens in the Vatican 
• 1898: Rudolph Diesel patents internal combustion engine--the diesel
• 1945: "Fat Man" dropped on Nagasaki Japan
• 1974: Nixon resigns
• 2012: Usain Bolt wins 200 meters in London Olympics becoming first to win 100/200 meters in back to back Olympics
• Born: Whitney Houston, Bob Cousy, Rod Laver, Brett Hull
• Died: Trajan, Sharon Tate, Jerry Garcia, Dmitri Shostakovich

Thought:

Colossians 1:15-23 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because it describes the incomparable, incredible, indescribable Jesus. Just let your mind focus this morning on Jesus--how would you describe Him? What names would you apply to Him? What does Paul say?

• Jesus is the image of God [1:15]. We cannot see God. Concepts are difficult for me, especially those that exist outside the physical world. What does love look like? The Bible says God is love. When Jesus came in the flesh, He tried to show us, reveal to us what God looks like and how God acts. When Christ comes again in what we read about in the Revelation--the unveiling---everyone will behold Him. If I want to know God, I have His image in Jesus. Now this image is not just a picture, a likeness, a hologram--Jesus is the fullness of God [1:19]. Fully God and fully man. The Incarnate One. So when we come up with clever ideas like "What Would Jesus Do?", we are really saying "what would God do."
• Jesus created everything and everything was created for Him [1:16]. Notice "everything." That means Larry was created for Jesus---my purpose is to serve Him and give Him glory. Paul says something similar in Romans 11:36--"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." For me this tells me that Jesus is the source of all things [from Him]. He is the force that moves and drives all history [through Him]. He is the giver of life and light. He is the course of all history, the path along which we travel toward His return [to Him]. Everything began with Him and He will bring this age to a close. Paul puts these thoughts together in 1 Corinthians 8:6--"One God the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him." 
• Jesus is first in everything [1:17]. Paul says Jesus is before all things. That is, He existed from the beginning. He is the Creator, not the created. This makes Him supreme in time. But it also makes Him first in all things--first is value, first in honor, first in priority in life. He is first. So when I do something or say something or think something--I think of Him first. What would make Him pleased, what would give Him glory and praise. 
• Jesus holds everything together--the glue [1:17]. We see that everyday. What causes marriages to fail--the glue is not present. What causes nations to fall apart--the glue is not present. Now, of course, Jesus is omnipresent--I mean that the marriage or the nations has abandoned the glue, ignored the glue, refused to accept the glue--so things fall apart. Without Jesus there is chaos, darkness, disunity. So Jesus is the reconciler--He unites us with God through His sacrificial death and resurrection. [1:20-22].  

How does this truth apply today? Jesus reveals God in His life and in His word. He is the Living Word--He takes the written word and brings it to life as the blameless and perfect example. So if I want to know God and be reconciled to Him--there is only one way--Jesus. Since Jesus created everything, then my view of my possessions changes--I don't own them, He does because He made them. I possess them at His pleasure and for His pleasure. This changes how I feel about sharing, giving, and holding stuff. Since Jesus is first in everything, He is my priority. And since He holds everything together, I recognize that without Him my life, my career, my family, my church fall apart. Today, Lord, help me remember who You are!

Blessings

Larry