“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”—Jesus, John 16:33, NLT

Sometimes the troubles, trials, and sorrows come because of listening to the voices and views of this world, sorting through deceptive, “almost truth” words and actions, and deciding someone other than Jesus is telling us the truth.  With all our beings; we want to know who is telling us the truth.  We have an innate desire to follow what is authentic.  It is usually not our first thought or desire to be distracted, deceived, and led away as a fool to be taken advantage of and stripped of all that God created us to be.  We do not want to lose; we want to gain what is best for us.  We also want to be loved.  We want to belong. But some of us seek to fulfill this longing in all the wrong places as the music plays…” Looking for love in all the wrong places”.

The people of Colossians were impressed with Jesus but to some, He was not the center of their lives.  Paul writes with compassion to lead them back to Jesus who is the only Way, Ultimate Truth, who offers Life eternal. Only Jesus can do that.  Jesus embodies Truth.  Jesus is Truth. 

Eugene Peterson writes;

“Hardly anyone who hears the full story of Jesus and learns the true facts of his life and teaching, crucifixion, and resurrection, walks away with a shrug of the shoulders, dismissing him as unimportant.  People ignorant of the story or misinformed about it, of course, regularly dismiss Him.  But with few exceptions, the others know instinctively that they are dealing with a most remarkable greatness.

But it is quite common for those who consider him truly important to include others who seem to be equally important in his company—Buddha, Moses, Socrates, and Muhammad for a historical start, along with some personal favorites.  For these people, Jesus is important, but not central, his prestige is considerable, but He is not preeminent.

The Christians of Colosse, or at least some of them, seem to have been taking this line.  For them, cosmic forces of one sort or another were getting equal billing with Jesus.  Paul writes to them in an attempt to restore Jesus, the Messiah, to the center of their lives.” –Peterson, Introduction to Colossians, The Message Bible

Colossians 1, The Message

^1-2 I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours!

Working in His Orchard

^3-5 Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.

^5-8 The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more. It’s as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He’s the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.

^9-12 Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

^13-14 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

Christ Holds It All Together

^15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

^18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

^21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

* * *

^24-25 I want you to know how glad I am that it’s me sitting here in this jail and not you. There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.

^26-29 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Jesus is the Truth we have been searching for all our lives.

Jesus is the Focus of believers in Him.  He is the only Way to God. He is the Way, Truth and the Hope of eternal Life with God.

Jesus at the Center of believers’ thinking develops the fruits of His character which transforms our behaviors.  Life with Jesus is a growing process, fueled by the power of God’s Holy Spirit supplied daily.   Jesus in us—living in us—is the secret to God bringing out His best in and through us for His glory!

Jesus at the Center is a gift from God who loves us unconditionally and relentlessly.

Jesus at the Center of broken lives “get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies”!   An intimate growing relationship with Jesus changes everything!

Our response—

“You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one.” –Paul

Lord,

We are grateful that you made a Way for us to reconcile with you.  You spoke, lived and demonstrated Truth by living as Truth.  Be believing You, we receive the gift of eternal Life. Help us to keep it simple and simply believe, trust, and follow what you say.

Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit. 

In Jesus Name, Amen