The Supremacy of Christ

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
(Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot wrote that in his journal shortly before giving his life on the mission field. He knew that the cost of the cause of Christ is everything you have.

However, the things you give up to Christ (e.g. control of your own life) are things you couldn't keep anyway, but the things you gain as a result of faith in Christ (e.g. eternal life) are things you cannot lose.

Jesus said, in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Everything you have here on Earth will decay and rust away -- you'll lose it all. However, what you store up in heaven you cannot lose.

The author of Ecclesiastes, who was probably King Solomon, recalled, in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, how he had done great things and accumulated much wealth. Yet, he realized that accumulation here on Earth is useless: I undertook great projects ... I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ... I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. ... Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:4,9-11). Even though he had everything he wanted, it was all pointless, because it didn't satisfy and couldn't last.

Take some advice from these passages. Trade the things you can't keep (your life, your money, your possessions) for the things you can't lose (eternal life, righteousness, a relationship with God).

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

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