Just the Hope You Need This Week
Are you in need of hope this week? If so, here is just what you need.
You work hard, provide for your family, and do everything you can, but there are still so many problems. In the back of your mind, you can keep hearing this voice: Hold it together.
Of course, this is hardly a new struggle.
Take the example of Marcus Aurelius, who became emperor of Rome in 161 AD. When he did, he stepped into an already unstable situation, and what followed was even worse. The empire was hit by the Antonine Plague, which devastated the population and weakened the economy.
At the same time, multiple wars broke out along the northern frontiers, especially along the Danube. Internally, there were political tensions and even a significant rebellion led by Avidius Cassius. It was the kind of convergence of crises that normally fractures an empire.
His private writings, later compiled as Meditations—a book I’ve been reading—reveal a man constantly disciplining his mind, reminding himself to remain steady, just, and aligned with reason no matter the chaos around him. He became, in a very real sense, the stabilizing force of the empire.
That said, while Marcus Aurelius held Rome together for a time, his writings show his great struggle, and his ability to “hold things together” was fragile and temporary, ultimately ending in his death.
This stands in stark contrast to Paul’s words in Colossians 1, where Christ is not holding things together through effort and struggle. He is the reason they hold together at all.
The Image of God
Keep in mind that Paul was writing to Philippian believers, who were early Christians living in the Roman colony of Philippi, a city in the region of Macedonia (modern-day northern Greece)—a church he founded during his second missionary journey. Philippi itself was a prominent Roman city, filled with retired soldiers (many who would have thought like Marcus Aurelius) and strongly influenced by Roman culture.
The main point of the Book of Colossians is that Jesus Christ is supreme over all things and completely sufficient for both salvation and everyday life. Based on this foundation, he writes these words in Colossians 1:15-20:
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.
There are so many rich sentences in this passage that it's hard to know where to start, but the foundation of this chapter is the preeminence of Christ. Paul shows us Christ is, in the words of The Gospel Transformation Bible, “both transcendent Lord of all things far removed from them, and immanent Lord of all things near to them.”[1]
This passage is the centerpiece of the book of Colossians. Paul knows that if he can help these believers think rightly about Jesus, he can help them think rightly about reality. As N.T. Wright notes,
What they need to know above all, if they are to grow as Christians, increasing in wisdom, power, patience and thanksgiving, is the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ. The more they get to know, and know about, Jesus Christ, the more they will understand who the true God is and what he’s done; who they are as a result; and what it means to live in and for him.[2]
What’s the Problem?
The great challenge Paul's readers had in accepting Paul’s message is the same challenge Marcus Aurelius faced, and the same one many have today—the challenge of believing I am the one who holds my world together.
On the surface, this sounds ideal and self-empowering.
And to a degree, it is…when you are young and have a measure of control. If you've always lived as a victim, there's something very empowering about reading an author like Marcus Aurelius, who tells you to control what only you can control and not focus on others. You resonate with authors like Earl Nightengale who write:
If we can catch the vision that life is lived from within, that it’s not so much what happens around us or to us as what happens in us that counts, we can set our own pace; live our own lives; meet situations and people objectively, without fear or resistance; and become as healthy, prosperous, and happy as we want to be.[3]
This mindset makes you feel in control. Suddenly, you're in the driver's seat. You stop being passive and start making active decisions that change your life.
But there will come a day when your life falls apart, and at some point, everyone must come to grips with the reality that life is outside their control. This is why the reality of Christ is important, not just from a conceptual standpoint but a deeply personal one.
The Hope of Christ
Coming out of Resurrection Sunday, our hope in Jesus is extraordinary.
As the image of the invisible God, Jesus is the way we understand what God is like and the nature of our relationship with him. Recognizing that all things have been created through him and for him gives us instant clarity of purpose. Life isn't about making a name for ourselves, squeezing every last drop of pleasure it has to offer, and leaving a legacy others will remember. From start to finish, it's all about Christ.
In an age of church hurt, it's such a comfort to remember that Christ is the head of the church. Our world is a mess, but through Jesus Christ, God chose to restore everything that was broken by sin, bringing all creation back into right relationship with himself by making peace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s blood on the cross.
When you look at this world without Jesus, you take too much credit for the good times and place on yourself an unbearable burden in the bad times. You weren't meant to hold your world together, and the weight of trying is crushing.
Hope for This Week
As you think about your life, ask yourself this question: How much time do I spend trying to hold the broken fragments of my life together?
Now think through each of these verses in Colossians 1:15-20 and think about how these truths can change your reality this week.
- Because all things were created through Christ and for him, this means your life wasn't an accident and that everything you do has purpose.
- He holds all things together.
- Think of how comforting that is, even when life hits you hard in unexpected ways.
- He's the head of the body, the church.
- If you had any broken relationships in the church or bad church-hurt experiences, Christ understands, and he's the true head.
As the perfect God-man, he is, as R.C. Sproul would say, “truly God and truly man.”[4] He is everything you need, yet deeply personal, and comes to where you are.
This should give you hope this week.
[1]Bryan Chapell, eds. Gospel Transformation Study Bible Notes. Accordance electronic ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), paragraph 5702.
[2]N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon, vol. 14 of Accordance electronic ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 150.
[3] Earl Nightingale, The Direct Line: An Official Nightingale Conant Publication (Earl Nightingale Series) (Kindle ed., Function), loc. 570.
[4] This came from a dialogue he had with John Macarthur
