Sunday Pondering

Cammi's up this morning after a not-so-good night's sleep. Her stomach hurts and we're not sure why - probably from not eating since lunch yesterday. At least she's awake, eating some dry HoneyComb cereal and drinking a little Mt. Dew. My wife still didn't get a good night's sleep, waking up too early to deal with all of this and trying right now to get a little extra zzz's. We're watching cartoons as I'm sitting here blogging away - I need a shower and some Tylenol before church, that's for sure.

We're going to talk about the second half of Colossians 1 this morning at Q & A. As I was reading over things and thinking about questions to ask, I was struck by how differently I read the Bible. The study notes and delineations in the text have to do with "the supremacy of Christ" - Paul writes of Jesus' place and authority in creation, His preeminence above everything. But the word that jumps off the page to me is "reconciliation", not "supremacy". It's like Paul is writing that Jesus is all these things, and it's for the glory of God in reconciling us back to Himself. The emphasis isn't so much on Christ's preemimance, but on why it's important: allowing a reconnect with the Father through His blood on the cross.

We don't seek to follow Jesus because He's the biggest deal on the block. Instead, it's because He draws us to Himself, reconciling us to God and to each other. Community grows out of that, and care for others grows out of that. Unselfish servant hearts grow out of the new possiblities Jesus opens up through us. The world needs what Paul was talking about: Christians who seek to put themselves aside, to not stand up for their own rights, who seek to honor God in the world and not chase after honor for self. It's almost like the first commandment: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3). God is saying more than "you shall not follow other gods", which is the gist of the second commandment. Instead, He's pointing out that He is the one who has brought them to safety, bought them out of slavery, and rescued them from an evil regime - and on top of that, "there's nobody else up here". God is the one who has brought freedom and promise (Jesus is the firstborn of all creation and first to be resurrected among the dead), and now they need to know that following Him is their highest response (they are reconciled to Christ through the blood).

I don't think I'm stretching that too far, and focusing on His reconciliation alongside His ultimate suprecmacy looks like the best way for us to be challenged this morning: to live out that reconcilisation with others, and to walk in fellowship with the Father. Maybe it's just me.