How Do I Live As Though Christ Is Sufficient?
Does life feel like it's outside your control? If so, here are some encouraging thoughts to remember today.
Sometimes life feels out of control.
Read the news headlines this week, and your mind will be pulled in a thousand different directions. Wait, this leader said that? This country is doing what? Gas prices are how much?
It's tough to know how to respond, but personally, I have felt a strong tug from God to remain grounded in the truth of who he is. To remember that, despite the craziness of this world, he is good. He is in control. And he is sufficient.
This is a reality Monday Christians wrestle with every day. We say Christ is sufficient. We believe Christ is sufficient, but then we struggle to live as though this is so. This is why the book of Colossians is one we must come back to time and time again.
Christ Is Sufficient
As I highlighted in my earlier post this week, the theme of sufficiency is central to the Book of Colossians.
To understand the context, Colossae was situated on a key route connecting Ephesus and Sardis to the Euphrates, making it notable in accounts of the military campaigns of King Xerxes and Cyrus the Younger.
However, by Roman times, two generations before Paul, the city had significantly declined in prominence, with Strabo describing it as a mere “small town.” Its importance had been overshadowed by Laodicea, located ten miles west, and Hierapolis, twelve miles northwest, both in the Lycus Valley.[1]
By the time Paul addressed the Christians in Colossae, the town’s commercial and social relevance was already diminished, though the impact of this decline on the townspeople and local believers is uncertain. One thing was certain: the believers needed to be reminded of the supremacy and wonder of Christ.
So in Colossians 1:15-20, Paul paints a vivid picture of who Christ is and what this means for those who follow him. He says,
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 He is also 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. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
By firstborn, Paul asserts that Christ’s authority ranks above all creation. “He is both prior to and supreme over that creation since he is its Lord.”[2] Nothing compares to him. Everything was created by him and for him.
This universe wasn’t just created for human enjoyment. It was created for God’s pleasure.
Everything We Need
Because of Christ, we have everything we need. In Romans 1:20, Paul writes, “For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.”
David Garland notes, “In Christ we see who God is—Creator and Redeemer; what God is like—a God of mercy and love; and what God does—one who sends his Son to rescue people from the dominion of darkness and brings about the reconciliation of all creation through his death on a cross.”[3]
This is the reality you must struggle to ground yourself in each day. If Christ truly is sufficient, you do not need to constantly worry about money, housing, jobs, and relationships. When you remember and believe who you are in him, you can live with a sense of calm, knowing that because he is enough, you are enough.
So if your mind is in turmoil today, pause and meditate on these words from Paul. Don't just read them. Internalize what they mean for the specific challenges you face.
*Unless you specify otherwise, comments and questions you ask may be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.
[1] Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 44, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1982), xxvi-xxvii.
[2]Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians, eds. D. A Carson et al., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 1265.
[3]David E. Garland, Colossians and Philemon, eds. Terry C. Muck, The NIV Application Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), 87.
