Created for Him (Colossians 1:16)

Today we are continuing our series from my book, Juggling Life’s Responsibilities. You can follow along with chapter one here.

According to Colossians 1:16, why did God create all things (including you)?

Have you ever had a few moments to yourself, when your brain starts to wander off everyday things and onto deeper issues, such as why am I here? why did God create my life? I’m so ordinary — does God have a special purpose for someone as insignificant as me?

Thoughts like this are especially likely to surface when life takes an unexpected turn. God, this isn’t what I had planned at all! Are you sure you’ve got everything under control?

Or, when I’m studying history with my children, I think about how God knew the events of history before they even happened. For instance, He revealed to Daniel that a ruler named Cyrus would arise. He told Daniel of Alexander the Great. He predicted that Jesus would be born in a little town called Bethlehem, to a virgin, no less!

So as I mull over the foreknowledge of God and His plan for time, both past and future, I often wonder what small part my life plays in His plan. I feel insignificant and unsure of my steps. I fear and fret, not remembering that He already knows tomorrow.

“But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:14-15).

So why did God create me? Is there a grand scheme or plan into which my life fits?

“[Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17).

First, I notice that the focus of this passage is on Jesus, not on me. Our worship is always to be of Him, not of ourselves. So when my thoughts turn to myself and to my own life, to my own future and plans, the danger is that I’ll begin worshiping myself. I have the tendency to put MY plans, MY wishes, MY desires, over HIM.

Yet “all things were created for Him.” He is the firstborn over all creation. Yes, God loves me (very dearly!), but He made me to bring honor and glory to His Son. (More on this next week!)

As Psalm 31 says, my times are in the competent, capable, and caring hands of God. He knows all that will happen — and all that will happen is for Him.

Yet simply knowing this doesn’t mean that I trust Him. Psalm 31:14 is significant:

• “I trust in you, O LORD” or YHWH. This all-supreme name for Jehovah God was revealed to Moses at the burning bush, when God told him, “I AM that I AM.” It refers to His omnipresence over creation. Everything is present tense to God. He IS. That’s why I can trust Him.

• Furthermore, I must make Him my God. He must be my object of worship. I can either worship God or myself. I can either worship the Creator or His creation. I can either choose to leave my times in His hands or I can try to manipulate time to my advantage. Worry is evidence that I’m not really worshiping Him.

So why am I here? Why did God create my life? I’m so ordinary — does God have a special purpose for someone as insignificant as me?

Yes, but my purpose is to focus all attention on Him, through my attitudes and actions. He must be the firstborn over all creation, the preeminent one in my life. When I am willing to step off the throne and to restore Him to His rightful place, He is then able to move in my life and make great things happen for His own glory.

Then I can rest. My mind can be at peace in Him, fully trusting.

>> Recommended Reading: Disciplines of the Heart, by Anne Ortlund