Christ at the Center

Last night, I crawled in to bed alone. I’ve been doing it all week, but this felt oppressive. My wife is visiting her family right now, and I really felt her absence yesterday more than the other days. I woke up this morning thinking about it, thinking about idolatry, and how, at times, I do make my wife in to an idol. I do not think there is anything wrong with loving her: she is a gift from God to be loved and cherished. But she is not the center of my life. My kids are not the center of my life, nor is my role as a preacher, or any other thing. Christ needs to be the center of my life, and from Him, all other relationships need to be informed.

I am to love my wife as Christ loved the Church, and represent Christ to my kids, neighbors, friends and enemies. I am to represent Him as I work, as I live out my life, in the quiet places no one else sees, and in the market place. In all things, Jesus needs to be the center of my life, or I risk being an idolater, building my life around pleasure, positions and possessions. Loved ones, Jesus is the only man whoever lived perfectly. He merely didn’t live perfectly, but lived according to the standards He set from the beginning. Therefore, I must center my life around Him, living as a new creation in Him, for Him, by Him and through Him. In Him, I am made alive, and I have the Holy Spirit because of His life, death, burial and resurrection. He knows my name, and has written it in His book of Life. Therefore, let my life be completely and utterly for Him. I pray you search your soul and come to the same conclusion for yourself.

2 Corinthians 5

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.