STEWARDSHIP FOCUS
 
WHAT WERE WE MADE FOR Craig Allen Cooper
 
All things were created through Him and for Him Colossians 1:16
 
All of life makes sense when we realize we are made through Jesus and for Jesus. We could forget everything else we have ever known, but if we “remember Jesus Christ,” we know everything we ever need to know (2 Tim. 2:8).
 
He is the One who made us, who is the founder of our faith, who is our constant provider, and who will sustain us to the end. Everything we will ever need is found in Him!
 
You and I were made for Jesus. It is easy to get so caught up in living the Christian life that we forget the Christ for whom we are living. We can easily become more aware of what we are doing for God than what God has already done for us in Christ. When we look in the mirror and focus only on ourselves and our accomplishments, we walk away either puffed up with pride or derailed by despair.
 
On the other hand, when we fix our eyes on Jesus, we are aligned again with our purpose and with ultimate reality. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). He is our Creator and sustainer (vv. 16-17).
 
Ultimately, everything exists for Him (v. 16). That means that our life is more about Jesus and who He is than it is about ourselves and who we are or what we have done (or not done). Indeed, it is only when we remember Jesus that we truly remember who we really are.
 
Looking to Jesus, we come to grips with the reality that we are sinners, even as Simon Peter did when he realized he was in the presence of sovereign holiness: “He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord'” (Luke 5:8).
 
Looking to Jesus, we realize that we could never earn God’s favor or merit His love. Nevertheless, looking to Jesus, we remember He came to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15; Eph. 2:1-10) and all who have believed in Him are now new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
 
We have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. The life that we now live in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself up for us (Gal. 2:20). Though we have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), we have been justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24).
 
This is amazing grace!