The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

— Colossians 1:15

If a god is something or someone you trust in to guard you, provide for you, and keep you healthy, wealthy, and wise, the Colossian people had no shortage of gods. In their culture, there was a god for almost anything.

Fortunately, today we are free of those misguided ideas, right? Wrong! Look at television commercials, internet ads, highway billboards, and magazine spreads, and they will tempt you to depend on money, pearly white teeth, the right outfit, gambling, and much more. May the God of heaven help us—and he has!

Paul taught clearly that Jesus, the Son of God, is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the author of creation, the Lord of lords and King of kings. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” All the fullness of God is in him. Jesus made peace between God and humanity through his blood, sacrificed on the cross for the world that God has so loved since the beginning.

The Colossians needed to hear this and to believe it with such commitment that they would flee from everything else that was tempting them.

It is good for us to hear these words too—and to memorize them. Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, and we need to remember this always, trusting in him and seeking to live for him day by day.

Lord of all, we submit ourselves to you. We confess that we often trust other things more than we want to admit. Hear our confession now, and forgive us our sins, we pray. Amen.