The Preeminence of Christ

I am not sure what brought this short study on, but I will definitely continue it.  So please bear with me as we both partake this journey.  Have you ever just sat and looked around and saw Christ in everything?  I mean everywhere you turned you can think of something God has done for you.  I sat in my room and looked around this Thanksgiving, not on purpose mind you, and I just began to thank God for this and thank God for that.  I had a lamp in my room and I thanked God for light and electricity.  I sat in my bed and I began to thank God that I am not sleeping on the floor.  I sit under my sheets and I began to thank God for warmth and comfort.  Mind you I should be homeless and I should be in the street somewhere, but thanks be to God of all I am safe and sound.

This is what i mean when I say do you see God everywhere.  As I saw God everywhere I began to think of his love and mercy on my life and the life of his children.  I began to reflect on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross for us all.  The work that has allowed me to enjoy such comforts that I have now that I know i do not deserve.  As I sat in tears something sparked me to look up online about God being everywhere and in everything.  This brought me to two words I have never heard of before; one is Pantheism and the other is Panentheism.

Now both words look the same but the definition of both is quite different.  With the help of Wikipedia and some other blog sites I found out some things.

Pantheism: is a word derived from the Greek roots pan (meaning "all") and theos (meaning "God").  Pantheism asserts to mean that "all is God".  Pantheism has described as the polar opposite of Atheism.  It is the view that everything is part of an all encompassing immanent God.

Panentheism:  God is viewed as the eternal animating force behind the universe.  Panentheism goes a little further than pantheism in description stating that God is confined in creation as well as transcendent from it.  In other words he is Omnipresent...

Words like these and omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, sovereignty, and preeminent speaks to the mysteries of God and his word.  As I continue to grow in my studies I am forever plagued with the thought and desire to know who God is more.  What does his word say about him?  What do theologians say about him?  What does my Pastor say about him?  What do other preachers say about him?  I can't explain the hunger but it definitely was not there before this year.  I believe this is what is meant where in the scripture it says.....

Man shall not live by bread alone, but on EVERY word that comes from the mouth of God - Matt 4:4

We should hunger to understand who this creator is.  We should want to know why God is so sovereign and mighty.  Why should I serve him?  Who is he to me who believes and to others who do not?  I came across this statement in Wikipedia that I just thought needed quoting....

God is not merely creator of the universe; his active Presence is necessary in some way for every bit of creation, from smallest to greatest, to continue to exist at all.  That is, God maintains all things and all beings, EVEN if those beings have explicitly rejected him.  His love of creation is such that He will not withdraw His Presence, which would be the ultimate form of annihilation, not merely imposing death, but ending existence altogether.  By this token, the entirety of creation is good in its being and is not innately evil either in whole or in part.  This does not deny the existence of evil in a fallen universe, only that it it is not an innate property of creation.  Evil results from the will of creatures not from nature.  - Wikipedia

Whoa...now when I read that I was instantly taken back to several things.  One as stated in John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.  Second i am taken back to Genesis where everything God created he ended with "it was good".  All things in creation is good and a gift from the creator.  Then I am taken to Colossians 1;15-17 where the scripture talks about the preeminence of Christ and how all things (us) is created from him and for him.  Did you get that????  All things (us) are created from him and for him.  That means we were not created for our own purposes and desires but for HIS.  Yep guarantee you that hit you like a ton of bricks..

I titled this post "The Preeminence of Christ" for a reason.  The definition I found of the word preeminence means: Having paramount rank, dignity or importance.  This is Christ and what he should be in each of our lives.  He is this without us but just how much sweeter is life when we are in agreeance with who Christ is and what His word says about him?

Man does not want to admit that he was created for someone else s purpose but the fact is we were; as stated in Colossians 1:15-17.  Man wants to keep it's fictitious superiority by trying to rationalize and have an answer for everything.  And yet there are just too many unexplainable things that happen that keeps our Lord.....well LORD.

When I look around I don't see you.  I am sorry to say I don't.  I love you but I just don't see you.  Even if you blessed me I see the Christ who has enabled you to bless me.  I just can't help it.  Every single time someone does something for me I am in immediate reverence of God's mercy and grace in my life and those he has put in it for me.

I don't know if this has happened to you, but when I had awakened from my 34 year slumber of blindness and sin everything seemed brighter.  The sun shined brighter, the breeze felt more refreshing, life just seemed more pleasant and enjoyable.  Even if my situation seemed grim I can still pause, rewind, and remember (thanks Sammy) who God is and what he has done for me.  I sat and watched my first Sunrise alone earlier this year and it was awesome.  To sit and marvel at the creative work of God and how he allowed me to enjoy his handiwork.

I am no theologian and all that I study right now is just on my own initiative, but I know one thing and that is I love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind.  I love his word and I am thankful for his Son dying for me and others.  This Thanksgiving be thankful for the seen and unseen.  I never saw past my problems earlier this year and here it is November.  The year is almost done and I am still here.  by God's grace he has kept me and brought me through.  Don't just thank him, Be thankful!!!