December 24 | Visible Supremacy
Colossians 1:15-20 (NLT)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
From the time our kids were babies, we made a birthday cake for Jesus for Christmas Day. We put candles on the cake and we would sing “Happy Birthday” to Him. We didn’t want Jesus to get lost in all the other things that crowd Christmas. We wanted to give him his rightful place.
The Baby in the manger that we celebrate on Christmas is the image of the invisible God. The Greek word for “image” is the “mirror-like representation”. Jesus isn’t a copy of God. He is the exact representation of God. The Baby in the manger is God.
The Baby in the manger is the Creator of all things, and He holds all things together. The Baby in the manger is the One who ultimately reconciles us to God through His later work on the cross. He is the One who makes our peace with God possible.
The Baby in the manger has supremacy. He holds the top place. Verse 18 in our reading today says, “so that in everything he might have supremacy.”
The question then is how can we give Christ supremacy (the highest place) in our lives? Maybe it is by acknowledging your need for Him and letting him have control over your life. Maybe he has been nudging you in a direction and it is time to give him supremacy and bow to his way. Whatever it is, this Christmas season, give him his rightful place in your life because He, as the image of God, deserves it.
~Steph Huff