His Preeminence

Col.1:18 - And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.

The First. The Last. The Beginning. The End. The Alpha. The Omega. The King of Kings. The Lord of Lords. How much clearer can the Father make it to show us that not only is His Son supposed to be center and head of everything, He is. It is impossible to overemphasize the Lord Jesus Christ as it pertains to anything, but we are prone to de-emphasize Him at every turn. With the passing of all the centuries history books have taken notice of many people and events that we as men have labeled as "important", but in the secular books of history Jesus of Nazareth has been given a limited place of recognition, usually just acknowledging His sayings. But His human masquerade has hidden the recognition of who He was, is, and always will be. Elohim. Theos. God. And when the Holy Spirit unveils who Jesus is and supernaturally leads us by faith to recognize and acknowledge our Creator and Savior, we say with Isaiah "Woe is me, for I am undone!". To say that that is the greatest moment of our lives is to use a comparative term about which there is no comparison. This empty earthly journey is swallowed up in Him. Jesus, Yeshua, Joshua. Look no further, He is everything for evermore.
That there is a God is somewhat obvious against the backdrop of creation. If the Creator of the universe somehow communicated to mankind that every January 1st He would appear for one hour in the night sky for everyone to see Him, it would be the event around which the entire year would revolve. What sporting events would be scheduled to conflict with that even? Hair cuts? Lawn mowed? Documentaries throughout the year would rerun the footage over and over while analyzing its meaning. This one hour appearance would have the preeminence over all the other events of the year.
Well God did reveal Himself to the entire world for 3 1/2 years as a man. And then He inhabited every follower with Himself so that the world can see the Creator every day through the lives of His children. And oh what a treasure for those of us who have seen, and heard, and have handled by faith His very person and in so doing we have been changed forever. The majesty and glory of His presence is immeasurable. He, and He alone, must have the preeminence in ALL things. Shortly there comes a time when He claims His throne in the very city of Jerusalem, to rule and reign over that which has always been His.
Today, men like ants run to and fro about their own business and "grabbing all the gusto" as if this life was all there is and the coming eternity a hoped for wish. And to spend a little time with Jesus is considered part of a well rounded lifestyle which provides Spiritual energy to help promote us as a contributing and prospering member of this fallen culture. When I became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth in 1975 I entered a Christian community that had already been poisoned by a series of layered deceptions that are today not only not recognized, they are celebrated. I was told that a good Christian tries to have "devotions" during the week. Devotions are defined as a few minutes reading the Bible and some prayer. Even with the embarrassment of that paltry offering exposed, most Christians don't even do that! But why wasn't I told that when I bowed before Jesus as Lord He was to be my only searching desire for the rest of eternity? I should have been told that the "Christian community" was completely consumed with entertainment, TV, movies, possessions, music, politics, and most of all money. I do remember a comical figure named "Rev. Ike" in New York telling every one that God wanted to bless them with money, but back then he was dismissed as an aberration. Today he must be considered a forerunner!
Jesus no longer has the preeminence in the midst of His own church and to openly preach Christ and Him crucified is considered unsophisticated, non-intellectual, and only applicable when directly connected with some earthly relevance. Only God can sort out the awful mess about who really is a Christian. Around the world believers are being persecuted and martyred by the millions while here we blend. With the end coming closer every day there still is no urgency; there still is no sacrifice; there still are no all night prayer meetings; there still is no utter brokenness before our Holy Father God. This is no search of the holy grail nonsense, this is the revelation of the Laodecian mixed multitude that we were born into, and you and I are part and parcel of it. I have come to realize that the only hope we have is personal revival that changes us and glorifies Him before He comes. There is a glory of grace that will crown the King of Kings drawn from any life, no matter how insignificant here, who repents and becomes consumed with following Him exclusively and completely outside the dictates of this culture. And without a self righteous attitude, but with a consecrated humility that acknowledges that "in me no good thing dwells". You and I may not be able to convince any one about seeking Christ, but our eternal inventory before Him will only be "what did we do personally". We must never become immersed with changing the backslidden church, we can only be immersed in Him. As I take stock of my own situation it is daunting. But the reward of seeking His face far outweighs the sacrifice. He will always be worthy!
If all the scientists gathered in a world wide news conference and unveiled a discovery that a huge asteroid would collide with and destroy the earth in three years what would be our response? Would we join with the world to try and send up a rocket to divert its course or would we fall on our faces and in repentance rise to urgently spread the gospel of Jesus Christ? But what if after the news conference the networks returned to their regular programming, and as much as you searched you could never find any other information about this coming asteroid? Nothing on nightly news shows, no documentaries, no periodicals, and nothing on the internet. And when one lone newsman caught up with one of the scientist and inquired about his discovery he replied that, yes, he still believed it. When the reporter pressed him about the lack of change in his behavior the scientist replied that he had told people about it and now its up to them. You and I would not believe him or his discovery. The Lord Jesus is returning to earth in divine wrath (unimaginable) and although we do not know the day and we say that we are convinced of the event, but our lifestyle completely belies such an incredible proclamation. Preachers are invited on TV talk shows and have polite and innocuous religious discussions that are appropriate for the television audience, but where is the passionate warning that indeed at least indicates that the preacher really believes it? As we one day stand before the Great Whit Throne and watch lost sinners pass by, will we not feel then that we have mishandled the truth and maybe, just maybe, had we discarded our sophistication and relevance and preached the whole truth in love and passion and stripped of our cultural hedonism, many could have been saved. I know one thing, those who will be cast into the lake of fire will wish we had.
But there comes a day, with no siblings heretofore, when we will be given the privilege to openly, not just in the midst of a church congregation, but before the entire world bow before Him and joyously, lovingly, loudly, reverently, and eternally proclaim "He is Lord". Those would be the musings of a madman if it were not to be so gloriously true! I have been in congregations of many thousands singing praises together to Jesus in our midst, and there were times it seemed as if I was carried away in the Spirit. But that will be but a taste of the coming pageantry when in the midst of millions of saints and angels we will sing together with the full power of the Spirit Himself "Crown Him with many Crowns"! And He will actually be before us, allowing us to worship Him, and filling eternity with His unspeakable glory! Who can know it!?
Do not short change heaven, His dwelling place. As we now anticipate entering that city whose builder and maker is God, on that day we will rejoice seeing Him, high and lifted up, having ALL THE PREEMINENCE THE HE DESERVES FOREVER!!