Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 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 1:15-18)
Most people, whether they realize it or not, are routine-oriented, especially in the morning. If we give it any kind of consideration, we’ll realize that we have a general order in which we do things each morning.
Maybe your first step is to wake up and immediately head for the bathroom. Or maybe you’re one of those people who must brush your teeth before doing anything else. Perhaps the first place you go is your coffee maker to start that morning brew.
We all have those things that we must have or do every day. Regardless of what those things might be, everyone has something that takes precedence in his or her life. As Christians, our number one goal should be to give Christ that precedence, or preeminence, as the Bible says.
Why Should We Give Christ Preeminence in Our Lives?
Why does Christ deserve the preeminence in our lives? Let’s look at the verses in Colossians stated above: He is the image of the invisible God, All things were created by Him and for Him, Everything consists because of Him, He is the head of the church, and He is the firstborn from the dead (speaking of His resurrection and our future resurrections). Christ is God, and we are His created beings—that is reason enough to give Him first place in our lives.
How Do We Give Christ Preeminence in Our Lives?
Understand that He Is Superior in Excellence.
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: (Job 37:23)
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. (Psalm 8:1)
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. (Psalm 148:13)
Christ is superior in His excellence. The word excellent means to be inaccessibly high. Could there be a better description of how great our God is? The Bible describes Him as being high, holy, and lifted up. No person or thing could ever be as amazing as our God.
Because of His excellence, Christ is the only One worthy of our worship, and He deserves preeminence in it. Yet how often do we simply go through the motions? What little time we spend communing with our excellent Lord! Even when we’re in church, how often do we end up singing an entire song without ever really thinking about the words? How many times do we completely zone out during the message instead of letting God’s Word work on us and change us?
Many times, we mistake busyness for worshiping and honoring the Lord. We think that if we attend church (especially if we attend more than just on Sunday morning) or if we’re involved in ministries, then we’ve spent time worshiping the Lord and our relationship with Him is solid. In Luke chapter 10, Jesus speaks against that very kind of thinking:
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. (Luke 10:38-40)
Here, we read an account of Jesus and His disciples visiting the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha was running herself ragged trying to get everything just right. She was serving by doing, and in general, there is nothing wrong with that.
However, by and by, Martha becomes overwhelmed, burnt out, if you will, to use a modern expression. Then she looks around to see Mary doing seemingly nothing. She becomes so upset about it that she actually complains to Jesus about it. Jesus replies:
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:41-42)
You see, Martha was trying to substitute acts of service for personal time with Christ. Jesus told her it didn’t work that way. The one needful thing in a Christian’s life is building that personal relationship with Christ that began at salvation.
Christ cannot have preeminence in our lives if we are not taking time each day to focus solely on Him.