Recognize Jesus
July 12, 2021
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT
A friend of mine has a thriving eBay and craigslist business. It started in a fairly unique way. He had a glass item that he had no idea what it was. He threw it in a box of similar junk and sold the whole box at a yard sale for $5. Sometime later he saw something that looked very familiar: a copy of his “junk.” It was selling for over $200! He couldn’t believe it. He had overlooked something very valuable, and he was determined not to do it again. He had a garage full of old things that had come from a variety of sources, and he began looking them up. He found he had objects of worth beyond what he had imagined. Now he has developed an eye for true value and is capitalizing on it.
Every time I hear another one of his stories about discovering worth that he previously would not have recognized, I think about the way most of the world approaches Jesus. We spend our lives and energy on things that we hope will satisfy while we overlook and devalue Jesus, the One of ultimate worth, the only One who can truly satisfy.
Paul is quick to point out to the Colossians what he had learned about Jesus. He previously had access to prestige, power, and possessions that most people think will lead to fulfillment. But he learned that the only lasting supply of what he needed and wanted was Jesus. He knew that people must recognize Jesus for who He really is; for His true worth. He echoed it in every message to all the people he was leading to fulfilling lives through a relationship with Jesus. To the Corinthians he said that because He loved us and wanted to provide everything we need, God made Jesus to be 1) wisdom itself. All the resources needed to live life in the wisest and most beneficial way are found in Him. 2) the way to a restored relationship with God. He is the only way to a relationship for which we were created and therefore crave, even when we don’t realize it. 3) the source of purity and holiness. He takes our brokenness, impurity, flaws, and failures and makes us like himself. 4) the power over sin. He gives us victory over the sin that held us captive. We can have new habits and a whole new sense of self.
The start of a life of greater wholeness is recognizing Jesus and who He is. He is more than just a ticket to heaven. He is the source of all the wisdom and resources you need in this life and into the next. If you are finding life empty and not the whole, fulfilling experience you had hoped for, it’s likely that you have overlooked and devalued Jesus. Take a new look.
- If you have not recognized Jesus as the Source of everything you could ever want or need, ask God to open your eyes in a new way. Listen to music that exalts Jesus this week in your alone moments and ask God to help you recognize Jesus for who He truly is.