By Steve Horn
Here we are a few days into 2019. The first Sunday of the New Year is upon us. Now is the right time to ask yourself the penetrating question: “Will Jesus be the center of your life in 2019?”
That phrase comes from a song I like to sing. Here are some of the lyrics to that song:
From my heart to the heavens
Jesus be the center
It’s all about You
Yes, it’s all about You
From my heart to the heavens
Jesus be the center
It’s all about You
Yes, it’s all about You
From my heart to the heavens
Jesus be the center
It’s all about You
Yes, it’s all about You
From my heart to the heavens
Jesus be the center
It’s all about You
Yes, it’s all about You
Most people would probably like to think of their lives as lots of boxes of different sizes. The label on one box reads family. Another box is labeled career. Yet another box is labeled hobbies, perhaps, until all of the components of one’s life have a box. Most people even conclude that one of those boxes needs to be labeled God. A person with right priorities might even recognize that the “God box” needs to be the largest box. The separate box analogy, however, is not sufficient to describe a right relationship with God. God does not want to have one box among many in our lives. Instead, God desires to be the one box in our lives in which all other boxes fit.
Here’s the way the Apostle Paul described this relationship to Jesus as recorded in Colossians 3:1-4.
1 So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Focus on this phrase: “the Messiah, who is your life.”
Can you really say that Jesus is your life?
Here is a question of . . .
Discernment, Devotion, and Discipline.
How do I know if Jesus is my life?
To start we might ask ourselves questions like these:
- Do I seek the things of God?
- Have I ceased my friendship with the world?
- Does my life reflect the character of God?
- Do I allow the Word of God to penetrate my life?
- Do my words and deeds glorify God?
I pray that my life will reflect this year that my life is hidden with the Messiah, that He is my life, and that He is the center of my all.
Steve Horn is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, Lafayette. This editorial first appeared on his blog.
