IN ALL THINGS
Does Jesus Christ have the preeminence “in all things” in your life and in your home? That means all the little things as well as the big things. I think that if we get into the habit of giving Jesus the preeminence in the little things it will be the norm to give him the preeminence in the big things, don’t you?
What are some of the things where we should give Him preeminence? I am sure you can think of many. I think we should learn to give Him preeminence in every attitude. When we decide to stay grumpy and mad, or bitter and hurt, or smoldering with self-pity, we are not giving the preeminence to Jesus but to our ugly fleshly nature! We must choose what we will do. We either yield to the flesh or yield to the life of Jesus that dwells within us.
When we retort and react negatively to our husband, we are not giving Jesus the preeminence. We are showing to our husband our “old man” and hiding the life of Jesus from Him.
When we would rather give time to outside functions and things we can get involved with rather than tending to the needs of our children and our home, we are not giving the preeminence to Jesus. For Jesus Himself said, “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 19:14). The kingdom of God belongs to the little children. When we are nurturing and caring for our little children, we are right in the center of God’s kingdom.
When we don’t have time to gather our family together for family devotions morning and evening, we show to our children that Jesus does not have the preeminence in our home. We reveal that all the other things in life (which are all fleeting) and vie for our attention are more important than Him! Oh, how easy it is for this to happen. I find that in our home I must make it happen. Everything else in our lives revolves around our times with God as a family each day. If other things don’t get done, too bad. But we dare not miss our time with Him—or He is not first place.
What about our commitment to the people of God? I am always challenged by David’s words in Psalm 16:2, 3: “Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee: but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.” David delighted in the people of God.
God loves His people and delights in them. They are the apple of His eye. If we don’t delight in them, we are not truly delighting in Him. For if we delight in Him, we will love what He loves. Therefore, we are committed to the gathering of God’s people each week. It is our delight. It is our love. It shows that He is preeminent in our lives. We don’t allow other things to cloud this weekly commitment.
“And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that IN ALL THINGS HE MIGHT HAVE THE PREEMINENCE” (Colossians 1:18).
Oh, yes, there are so many other areas. Let’s seek to give Jesus preeminence “in ALL things.”
Be blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
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