#13 Who Is Jesus?
So What?
Therefore. . .
(Colossians 2:16)
It's quite possible for a writer
to have a marvelous time spouting out theology by the mile, while those out in
the workaday world are trying to pay debts, raise kids, handle bosses, and deal
with all kinds of nasty, hard, difficult relationships. So while the writer - me
- is having a marvelous time with his theology, his readers sit there
impatiently asking, "So What?"
Some try to get over this hump by starting with where people are and leaving
it at that, never bring Jesus into the discussion. We can't do that. The "so what@
of Paul's teaching about Jesus is
very simple. Let me suggest three things.
First, if Jesus Christ is head of creation and head of the church - and he
is! - then we don= t have the freedom
to do what the Gnostics were doing. We can=
t say, "Well, one part of my life is
sacred and the rest of it is secular. Sunday morning I'll act religious, but the rest of the week is mine.
I'll keep my spiritual experience in a watertight compartment while living the
vast majority of my life in the secular realm. I'll make sure the two never connect.@
Jesus refuses to give us that option. He created all things. He is the head
of the church. Our spiritual experience and our natural, material experience -
both come from him and come under his lordship. Therefore, we are not free to
talk about "the sacred@
and "the secular.@
Second, if Christ is supreme, he is absolutely sufficient. He created the
world and keeps it going. We worship the Creator of all things, the one who
upholds everything by the word of his power. Therefore, he can work in our
lives, too.
Do we believe that? Too often we think, He can handle the universe, but
not me. The universe must bow to him, but I don't need to bow myself. What foolishness!
Fortunately, Jesus doesn't allow
us to carry on like that for long. He is supreme, and he is sufficient. He is
the King, and sooner or later we will be called into his presence to acknowledge
the fact. How much better to do so with joy!
Third, Jesus is the unifying and unique factor of all existence. There is
nothing we can add to him. Nothing. Therefore, don't try. As he is the unifying factor, we can keep nothing from him. He is the
King of kings, and Lord of lords, and everything we have - everything - belongs
ultimately to him.
Charles Wesley was certainly right. Pondering that first Christmas morning,
he wrote of the infant Jesus, "God
contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.@
Only when we accept this and revel in it do we begin to see the significance of
the magnificence of King Jesus. And only then do we begin to really live! "Therefore . . .
A
Hail, King Jesus!
What is your response to what you have studied in Colossians so far? What is
your "Therefore . . ."?
Father, thank you so much for what you teach us in your Word, and for how it
changes us. I pray that what I have learned so far would change me in these
ways: . . . Amen
Meditations on Christ
1. Read Philippians 2:5-11 and think about which aspects of Christ's experience we can imitate and which belong to him alone.
2. Take some time to meditate on Hebrews 1:1-3:6. Try reading it out loud a
few times.
3. Memorize Hebrews 12:2-3.
4. What does 1st Peter 2:18-25 say about how Christ handled unjust
treatment? What are some clues we find in the passage about the key to handling
it the way he did?
5. Have someone read the fifth chapter of Revelation aloud to you. Close your
eyes and try to imagine what John saw in his vision.
~Stuart Briscoe~