Note sull'episodio
Image of the Invisible God
Lord Jesus, you are exalted to the highest place. Your name is above every other name – every ruler and principality and power, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
So today we pray in the name of Jesus—that every knee would bow and every tongue confess that you are Lord. Not because we have the strength to make it happen, but because you do. Not because our plans are sufficient, but because your power is limitless.
Read: Psalm 42:8
Pause and pray
Today I am reflecting on Jesus as both creator and reconciler of all things, through this beautiful Christological hymn, found in Colossians...
Read: Colossians 1:15–20
Jesus is not just partially divine, one way to God amongst many others – he is the complete fullness of God. He is supreme; he is utterly unique, the one in whom all things hold together. Interestingly, the phrase “all things” is used five times in this short section. These verses zoom out to show us the whole sweep of the God story: from creation, to the Cross, through resurrection, to the day of ultimate redemption.
Jesus is in it all. Yet, I ask myself the question: Is Jesus present in all of my life?
Jesus, you show me what God looks like. You reveal yourself to me in a way I can know, see and understand. I look to you and thank you that I have complete access to your character and nature. I invite you to be in every aspect of my life.
Pause and pray
Lord Jesus, in an age where many seek to add to you — whether through mystical experiences, human philosophy, or religious traditions- would you call them to fully comprehend your sufficiency and supremacy? I pray now for my nation, asking that many would come to see you, the “image of the invisible God”.
Pause and pray
As I return to today’s passage, I listen for a word or phrase that speaks particularly into my personal context today...
Read again: Colossians 1:15–20
I take a moment to reflect now on any word or phrase that the Holy Spirit is highlighting for me.
Pause and pray
I’m drawn to the word “image”. This is the nearest word in the New Testament to our word photograph. Photographs mean more to me when I know the subject of the photo.
I imagine having a photograph of God. Where would I put it? How often would I look at it? Am I just gazing at the photo occasionally? Is it stuck to my fridge, or does it make me yearn to be with the subject of the photograph?
“Image of the invisible God”, I yield to you today. May you not just be a distant image to me. Come and inhabit all of my life.
Amen.