Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
-- in him all things hold together. --
Everybody has at least one area of life that seems a little frayed. Maybe it's at work with the boss or at home with the kids. Or maybe the trouble area is with your health, money, time, relationships, sexuality, drinking, and the list of possibilities goes on and on. The problem is that when a single thread of life starts to pull apart, eventually the rest of life is going to unravel as well. Our lives are more integrated than we realize. Ask an alcoholic to explain this to you.
This is why the Apostle Paul says that if Christ is our Savior, then he has to hold all things together. In the course of five verses, Paul says "all things" five times. So you can't miss his point. You cannot say, "That doesn't include my work. It's not a religious job." Nor can you say, "Not my health. The disease has spread too far." You can't even say, "But not the Middle East. Not everyone believes in Jesus Christ there." No, Paul is quite clear. All things hold together in Christ. Remember the unraveling thread. Jesus Christ cannot be the Savior of a part, without saving the whole.
In the words of Abraham Kuyper, "There is not one inch of the world that Christ does not claim saying, 'That is mine. That belongs to me.'" This doesn't mean that everything looks like it belongs to Christ. It means that the presence of the Savior can be found in all things. But you'll have to look for him.
-- Craig Barnes