Putting Jesus First: Five Days in ColossiansSample

Why Jesus Deserves to Be First

Jesus deserves to be first in our lives, so why is it that we so easily forget who Jesus is and where His rightful place should be in our hearts and in our lives? We’ll get to that question shortly. First, let’s address our forgetfulness. Our forgetfulness leads to us allowing other things to creep in and take up first place in our hearts and lives. See, some of the Colossians have taken on a spirituality that has started to allow other things (even good things!) to creep in and compete with their love for Jesus. Paul’s greatest concern isn’t that they would completely abandon Christ, but that they would forget all that He is for them and grow apathetic toward Him over time. Think of it like this: “I love ______. Oh, and I love Jesus, too.”

The more and more we elevate things in our hearts other than Christ as highest, the emptier we become. The only one who can truly satisfy our weary and searching souls is Jesus. We can be so quick to forget this. Paul wants the Colossians to keep Jesus as first and highest in their hearts and lives because of how easy it is to elevate other things to His level, because we are a forgetful people. Paul is concerned they will allow something else to fill in the blank before Christ, and that just can’t be so for the Christian! It can’t be so for you and me, friend. We will only feel empty if we do that. We must always put Jesus first above everything else.

Here’s the good news for us. Paul doesn’t just say, “Put Jesus first already!” without further explanation. He doesn’t just tell them what to do and then walk away. Instead, he helps them put Jesus first by telling them why. He lays out a clear and right view of who Jesus is and who He should be in the lives of the Colossian believers and in our own lives too. He reminds them that Jesus must be the most central part of our lives as Christians because of all that He is for us. He must be our greatest joy. He must be better than anything and everything else in our life—yes, even the best things (including people!) you can think of—because of who He is compared to all those things. When we look at who Jesus really is and what He has done for us, we will keep Him first and best in our lives, and in turn, that will orient everything and everyone else rightly. It is for our good and God’s glory that we keep Him first and highest. Praise God!

I need this reminder just as much as anyone else. My hope is that today our love for Jesus might increase as we grow to know Him through God’s Word. I pray we will lay down the things in our life that are competing with our love for Jesus and make Him the center, highest, and best once again. I pray God will continue to make us look more like His Son as we consistently practice putting Him first in our lives. Because He deserves it! There’s no one like Jesus!