Colossians 1:16-17 "16For 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. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
Prior to 1610 the people of the world strongly believed that the Earth was the center of everything. They had this belief that the sun went around the Earth causing day and night and changing seasons. It was a great scientist and scholar by the name of Galileo who first published his thoughts and research that the Earth revolved around the Sun; that the Sun was never changing, but that the Earth was! His heliocentric view of the solar system was considered blasphemy by the Roman Catholic church and he was persecuted and imprisoned for it. There were times during his persecution that Galileo recanted his views and held fast to the theology of the Catholic Church, but eventually the truth was too much for him to hide and he stood by his findings. In 1632, in the face of the Inquisition, Galileo stood up and said that what he discovered was true and right. For his boldness before the inquisition, he was sentenced to live the rest of his days under house arrest. (rather mild considering some of the tales we hear about the inquisition) Today we know that the Sun is at the center of our solar system. It's a fact that's accepted without question.
Galileo's discoveries about how our cosmos works parallel our own spiritual lives. Before discovering the God of the Bible, we are all our own Gods. From the time we come out of our mother's womb until we ACCEPT that Christ is our Savior, we think that everything in life revolves around our own purpose. Whether it's getting the crap out of our diaper or having that mansion on a hill that I think I worked hard enough for to deserve, we put our want's and need's above everyone and everything else. There comes a time, though, in everyone's life (alive or dead) that they will have the revelation that Christ is King. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all! It will be a fact, accepted WITHOUT question. We all need to come to the realization that seasons change, day and night come and go, and storms sweep over the landscape of our lives, but the Son has never moved. It is us that is moving. We spin in circles sometimes, or we go to distant places. We quake and tremble with fear or we erupt with anger. We're calm and tranquil and we bring forth new life. Sometimes it's dark in our lives, a night time of experience. Those times aren't caused by the Son moving, but rather by us turning! We are like the Earth; ever changing, violent, and stormy.
Christ being at the center of our lives doesn't change the fact that we're still human and make mistakes. Christ at the center of our lives causes us to focus on what's coming, not the storm or dark night that we're in. In a hurricane or starless night, there is always a new day. Destruction and carnage may lay in waste when the morning comes, but even among the mess, the beauty of the Sun, its warmth and light, are always welcome.
When God created ALL things, there was order and purpose in His vision. He didn't create the Earth to revolve around the Sun because it wouldn't work the other way; He created the Earth to revolve around the Sun because He's a picture God. Take a snap shot of our solar system and see the Sun at the center. Take a snap shot of your life--can you see the Son at the center?
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