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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 5, 2009 Christ Holds Everything Together |
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Frontline Devotion for Monday, January 5, 2009 by Fritz Foltz
Colossians 1: 15-20 The Supremacy of Christ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 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. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 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. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 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.
Some physicists are fascinated by the search for a unified field theory, feeling it would explain how everything is held together. In fact, some have claimed this would grant us access to "the mind of God". We heard some of the same as reaction to the completion of the genome project. Although he was careful to qualify what he said, Francis Collins entitled his book "The Language of God".
Christians can appreciate such projects, because they enable us to understand the natural world in which we live. We have more trouble describing them as revealing anything significant about God's nature. A scientific formula or system is cold and unbending, hardly adequate for defining the Father of Jesus Christ.
Paul believes that the essential way to understand our God is through Christ and him crucified. In the lesson he described Jesus Christ holding all things together. Paul is saying that when we get to the center of all things, to the heart of the universe where God's original purpose is revealed, we find love. Paul sees this as terribly important as it directs us as we continue Jesus' mission to restore our world to the purposes God intended in creating it. Science might reveal that the strong live and the weak die in natural world, but Christianity teaches that we can only live in peace and harmony when the strong help the weak.
A respected theologian, John Howard Yoder, put it this way: "... people who bear crosses are working with the grain of the universe. One does not come to that belief by reducing social processes to mechanical and statistical models, or by winning some of one's battles for the control of one's own corner of the fallen world. One comes to it by sharing the life of those who sing about the Resurrection of the slain lamb.
Let us pray: We give thanks, Father, for Jesus' love. Enable us to respond to it in a proper manner, living it as he lived, holding things together and restoring all to its intended role. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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