Focus
Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.
Read
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.
Reflect
Focus
Christ, the perfect image of the invisible God.
Reflect
There was a man who grew up in a troubled family. They did not get along. He felt he needed to leave and strike out on his own. He accepted Christ and realized he had a new family, God’s family. He found love, fellowship, and beauty in God’s family. He learned how to be a husband, a father, and a member of this new family in Christ. He loved music and became a choir director at his church. He traveled from church to church, singing praises of God. He would give his testimony of how he found God, found love, and found a family he could be proud of. He never felt alone again, he never felt rejected again, and the challenges he met in life, he was able to overcome through Christ.
Creation is for Christ. He is the end for which all things exist, the goal toward whom all things are intended to move. He is the perfect image of God, where we can experience love, forgiveness, and peace.
Pray
Holy Father, help me to be the image of Christ, showing love, compassion, comfort, and forgiveness to those who are hurting. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen
Go with God.