Life can get so very messy. Things happen we never imagined would. We lose jobs, get sick, grieve significant losses, or struggle financially. Sometimes the messy parts of our lives are of our own making. We make unwise choices, we don’t do something that really needed done, or do something we really shouldn’t have. Sin can creep up on us, bringing with it guilt and the need for forgiveness for which we frequently feel so unworthy.
Often, when life gets off track, and the hard things it can bring enter our lives, we don’t know what to do. Things seem overwhelming, beyond our ability to fix. And often they are just that, beyond our own ability Then, where do we go?
Without being overly simplistic, the answer may be more simple than we might ever imagine. Why don’t we run to Christ? Col. 115-23 is a beautiful passage that reminds us of just who he is, and the powerful transformation he can bring to our messy lives.
We should run to him because he is greater than our messes, than our hardships, or even our sin. Col. 1 reminds us that he is the image of the invisible God, that even the greatest powers in the universe were created by him and for him. That means even we were! He can handle what we cannot. What can we do? We can run to Christ who is greater than anything we ever face, even those things we could never manage ourselves.
We should run to him because he can hold us together even when it seems as if we are falling apart. Those times when we don’t know what to do can make us feel as if our whole lives are unraveling. But Col. 1:17 says that in him, all things hold together. If he can hold creation together, he can hold us together, too.
We should run to him because as we do, he will draw us close to himself. In Col. 1 we are reminded that we were once enemies of God, alienated from him. When life is unraveling, whether by chance or by our own choices, we often feel that familiar separation from him, But verse 23 of Col. 1 reminds of the great truth of the gospel, and that is the work of Christ is to reconcile us to God. Those whose messy lives make them feel far from God can be his friends. That is amazing grace!
Yes, it seems simple. But when we don’t know what to do, our best move is to run to Christ.
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