Holding Our Life Together

Dr. Hood is on vacation.  

This is a repeat of a meditation from his first book, 

Heart & Soul, Meditations to Encourage the Heart & Refresh the Soul

“…and all things are held together in him.”

Colossians 1:17 (Common English Bible)

It seems that everybody has at least one area of life that isn’t holding together very well.  Maybe it’s at work with the boss or in the home with your spouse.  The trouble area may be with your health, finances, time demands, relationships, drinking, and the list of possibilities goes on and on.  What is certain is that when one area of life begins to unravel, eventually the rest of life will be affected.  Our lives are more integrated than we realize.

Perhaps this is why the Apostle Paul tells us that if Christ is our Savior, then we are to look to him to hold all things together.  In five brief verses, Paul says “all things” five times.  Paul wants us to hear that as all things were created in and through Christ so also will it be Christ who will sustain the whole of creation.

No longer can we say that some area of our lives doesn’t belong to Christ, that it doesn’t impact the rest of us.  We can’t say, for instance, “The trouble is at work, I’ll just leave it at the office.”  Nor can we say, “Nothing more can be done,” and quietly be resigned to whatever will be.  No, Paul is quite clear: all things hold together in Christ.  Jesus Christ is not the Savior of one part of our life and not the others.

Every part of our lives is important to Christ.  If one part of it seems a bit frayed, Christ wants us to give it to him, to trust in his care.  If ignored or neglected, it won’t be long before our whole life unravels.

Joy