For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16 ESV)
If you missed the introductory posts in this series, you can catch up here.
What on earth am I here for? I have sometimes obsessed over the question of my calling. Am I specifically doing what I was made to do? Do I understand my gifts? Am I using them and developing them? And what if my I’m wired one way, but that doesn’t lend itself to my environment? What if I’m a typewriter in a digital age? Can you relate?
Once again, within this cosmic-scoped, richly-poetic, sketch of the nature of Jesus Christ I find hope for my not-so-cosmic-feeling life.
All things were created through Jesus and for Jesus. Everything. What a confidence-enabling thought! It’s a principle that if you fail to understand the purpose of a thing you’re bound to abuse the thing. You can only misuse something that you don’t understand the purpose of. And if you want to understand the purpose of a thing, you don’t ask the thing. Asking it’s maker is a much better idea.
We spend so much of our lives in a search for meaning, and don’t go to the source. Everything, including every person, was created through him and for him. He’s the Henry Ford to our Model T. He’s the Steve Jobs to our iPhone. You were made with a purpose in mind!
Reflecting on this reality leads me to a few thoughts that encourage me:
I can trust how God made me and when and where God placed me are purposeful. Knowing he made everything, I don’t have to wonder about integration issues with how I was made and where I was placed. I’m not a typewriter in a digital age. Or at least I can know that if I am, that was deliberate. The way God made me was for a purpose.
I have direct access to the expert of everything. Everything was made by and for Jesus. And the hope of the Christian includes access to guidance from him through the Holy Spirit in our lives! I have a life line, a “mayday” button, that connects to the One who made everything. It’s why earlier in Colossians, the author informs his Christian audience that his prayer for them is that they “would be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Everything works to bring praise to God through Jesus. Everything was made for him. I’m not made for myself. My gifts and abilities aren’t for my satisfaction. Everything was made to bring glory to God. This is a liberating truth for someone with a tendency to self-obsess. It isn’t about me. When I make myself all about me I abuse myself. I’m using me for the wrong purpose. Like hammering in a nail with a toothbrush, I’m abusing my purpose. Like everything in all creation, I exist for Jesus.
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