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)
How Do We Give Christ Preeminence in Our Lives?
Make Him Superior in Rank. (Give Him the priority of place.)
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (Mark 12:30)
In all thy ways acknowledge him… (Proverbs 3:6a)
Because He is superior in excellence, Christ deserves a higher ranking in our lives than anything else. He is the only One fit to be the King and Lord of our lives. He is the only One truly deserving of our love and affection. Our love for Christ is to be so strong that all other affections pale in comparison. Jesus even said in Luke 14:26 that if we are to serve Him properly, then our love for everything else must seem like hatred in comparison to our love for Him.
Colossians 3:1-2 says, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Christians should be living for eternity and loving the eternal. We all have hobbies and interests here on earth, but they should not be the driving force of our lives. If earthly things become our focus, then they become our god, not Christ.
A.W. Tozer said, “As God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once.” Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” When we make serving Christ the number one priority in our lives, everything else falls into place. We’ll find it’s a lot easier to give Christ preeminence when we first make Him a priority.
Give Him Superiority in Influence.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. (Psalm 26:2)
If we are going to give Christ preeminence in our lives, we must first give Him the power to influence our hearts. The world will tell you to listen to your heart, to trust your feelings. However, the prophet Jeremiah warned us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Our hearts are too easily influenced by what is around us for us to trust them.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) Keep, in this context, means “to guard against dangers; to blockade.” We must allow God to have control of our hearts. We must make His Word and the truths contained therein the wall that guards our hearts against worldly dangers.
Yet how many of us are willing to do just that? Many of us are too afraid to give God control because maybe we won’t like where He’ll take us. Maybe He’ll want us to give up something that we aren’t willing to give up.
However, the alternative to giving Christ influence over our hearts is to give in to our own fleshly desires and lusts. James 1:13-15 warns us about what will happen if we do just that:
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
There are serious consequences to doing what we want rather than what Christ would have us do. That kind of life leads only to regret, and it is not the kind of life that Christ would have us live.
Putting Christ first in our hearts is truly the first step in giving Him preeminence in our lives.
Conclusion
What are our “must-haves” today? Does Christ even make the list?
Job 23:12 says, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Do we crave Christ and His Word as much as we crave the food we eat?
Jeremiah 2:32 is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. It states: “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.” How many of us are guilty of forgetting about God?
We need to make our relationship with the Lord the most important thing in our lives. Whatever our “must-haves” might be, may we put Christ first before them all.