Colossians 1:15-20: a reflection

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. 18He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

Paul lifts up Christ in the highest terms, and among the great things he says is this: in him all things hold together. He is before all things, Paul writes, and in him all things are held together. Christ is not only the one through whom and for whom all things were created, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; he is also the one in whom everything coheres, holds together, is sustained. The whole of creation is held together in him; he is the center in whom all things find their coherence and are sustained. This is a great truth about Christ: that in him all things hold together, that he is the one who sustains and unifies all that is. In Christ all things hold together and are sustained. Christ is the one in whom everything coheres. All things are held together in Christ. Christ sustains and unifies all that is.

Notice the sweep of what Paul says: in Christ all things are held together. Not only were all things created through him and for him, all things in heaven and on earth; but he is before all things, and in him all things are held together, sustained, kept in being and coherence. Christ is not a part of creation but the one in whom the whole of it holds together, the center that sustains and unifies everything. This is worth resting our minds on. The universe does not hold together by chance or by some impersonal force; it holds together in Christ, who sustains all things. And if he holds all things together, then he can hold together our own lives, which so often feel as though they are falling apart. The Christ in whom the whole creation coheres is able to hold together what feels scattered and broken in us. In him all things hold together, our lives included. To know that Christ holds all things together is to have a center that sustains us. Christ holds the universe together, and he can hold us together too. The one who sustains all things can sustain us.

That is worth resting in, for in Christ all things hold together, and the Christ who sustains the whole creation can hold together our own lives. We can feel that things are falling apart, that our lives are scattered and coming undone, with no center to hold them; but Paul declares that in Christ all things are held together, that he is the one in whom the whole of creation coheres and is sustained. If Christ holds all things together, he can hold us together. When your life feels as though it is falling apart, remember that in Christ all things hold together, and he can hold you. Rest in the truth that in Christ all things hold together, so that the Christ who is before all things and in whom the whole creation coheres and is sustained can hold together your own life when it feels scattered and broken; for the universe does not hold together by chance or by some impersonal force but in Christ, who sustains all things, and if he holds the whole of creation together, keeping it in being and coherence, then he is able to hold together what feels as though it is falling apart in us, so that we have in him a center that sustains us, and when our lives feel as though they are coming undone we can trust the one in whom all things hold together to hold us.

Lord Jesus, Paul lifts you up in the highest terms, and among the great things he says is this: in you all things hold together. You are before all things, Paul writes, and in you all things are held together. You are not only the one through whom and for whom all things were created, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; you are also the one in whom everything coheres, holds together, is sustained. The whole of creation is held together in you; you are the center in whom all things find their coherence. Show me the sweep of what Paul says: in you all things are held together. Not only were all things created through you and for you; but you are before all things, and in you all things are held together, sustained, kept in being and coherence. You are not a part of creation but the one in whom the whole of it holds together. The universe does not hold together by chance or by some impersonal force; it holds together in you, who sustain all things. And if you hold all things together, then you can hold together my own life, which so often feels as though it is falling apart. Let me rest in that, for in you all things hold together, and you who sustain the whole creation can hold together my own life. I can feel that things are falling apart, that my life is scattered and coming undone, with no center to hold it; but you are the one in whom all things are held together. If you hold all things together, you can hold me together. When my life feels as though it is falling apart, help me remember that in you all things hold together, Lord, and you can hold me, so that I have in you a center that sustains me, and can trust the one in whom all things cohere to hold together what feels scattered and broken in me.