If my dad taught me anything it was this, “If someone else is capable of doing it – you can do it too.”   I found this to generally be true, but there was the time I attempted to rebuild the rear brake cylinders on my car. 

Let me explain these brake cylinders to those of you who may be less mechanically inclined than me (which might include maybe 2 or 3 of you.)

In each wheel is a cylinder filled with brake fluid.  When you step on the brakes, it transmits that pressure to the fluid through the brake line, which pushes on a piston in the cylinder, which then pushes out on the brake shoe and against the wheel, thus slowing it down

I had rebuilt both cylinders and I wanted to see if they worked.  So, I stepped on the brake pedal.   I learned later that you should NOT do this until the brake shoes are reinstalled – BUT Youtube DIYs didn’t exist then.

Sooo – I stepped on the brakes, heard a loud popping noise, and then sadly watched as the insides of my cylinders flew across the street. 

Maybe my dad was wrong!

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It all fell apart.  It’s embarrassing and even painful when things fall apart. 

Like a family!  The fighting and bickering.  Doesn’t feel like a family anymore.

Sometimes marriages crumble.  Criticism displaces the cuddles.

Ooh and I hate it when my financial plans fall apart – when my outgo exceeds my income. 

Pressure can cause most anything to fall apart – churches, friendships, partnerships, our sanity and on it goes.

The question is – what do we need to hold it all together?

The Apostle Paul wrote this of Jesus, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,  for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.”  – Colossians 1:15-16

Profound words that could summed up in one word, “First.”  Christ was first over all creation.  The term firstborn refers not to birth order (Christ is eternal God) but rather to His rank in creation.   For instance.  Esau was Isaac’s firstborn, but God called Jacob the firstborn because he came to outrank Esau. (Exod. 4:22) 

Christ outranks all of creation because it all came into being through Him.  He was the glue so to speak.

Most importantly, Paul tells us that because Christ is first, He currently holds all things together.  “He himself is before all things, and all things are held together in him.” – Colossians 1:17.

Science tells us that matter (like the chair on which you sit) is made up of more space than substance.  It consists of rapidly moving electrical particles that move within defined parameters. 

That sounds like my life at times – more space than substance and rapidly changing circumstances. 

Yet, somehow the physical universe is stable and firmly held together.  Scientists can’t explain why, but Paul can, “all things are held together in him.” 

But can Christ hold our lives together as well?

Paul would say absolutely…if we allow Him to be first.  To bend our will to His, to seek His honor more than our own and to allow His truth to permeate all we do and say.

If Christ had the first place in our marriages – then husbands would love their wives like Christ loves the church, and wives would respond to that warm loving leadership – a sweet harmony.

If Christ had first place in our churches, then we would support rather than compete against each other. 

If we were to honor Christ first with our finances, He would see to it that we would still have more than enough for ourselves and plenty to share with others.  (2 Corinthians 9:6-9)

Putting Jesus first brings unity and peace and balance and a wholeness to our relationships, finances, even our mental, physical, and emotional health.

So, first things first.  Jesus!

A PRAYER: Lord take the throne of my life, gather the strewn pieces, and pull them together. 

Scripture references from the NET Bible ®