He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Colossians 1:28,29
All the great stories of our day have someone that’s destined to change everything. Return everything back to the way it was. Turn our lives around. Change everything from the mess we’re living in and remaking it into a perfect world where the whole shebang is made right. Darkness it turned into light. Evil is defeated and goodness wins.
Think about it.
In the Harry Potter series, he fights against and defeats Lord Voldemort[1].
In Lord of the Rings, Frodo destroys the One Ring and Sauron is destroyed[2].
In The Dark Crystal, Jen restores the crystal and restores Thra[3].
In The Matrix, Neo overcomes The Matrix[4].
In Dune, Paul Atreides overcomes evil and restores Arrakis[5].
In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star[6].
In Avatar, Jake sends the defeated aliens back to earth[7].
We love these stories. Whether we think about it or not, we all know deep down inside that things are broken. We all have this feeling that once upon a time the world was better. Maybe even perfect. There might be lots of reasons that things aren’t right, but they definitely aren’t exactly the way they should be.
Everything should be different. Everything need to be repaired. The planet needs to be recreated back to its original state. Perfect. Animals, plants, and people all living in perfect harmony.
But more than just things need restoration. People also need to be remade. Made whole again. Even in our selfish pride and arrogance, we know deep down inside that we are broken. Not the way we should be. Not the people we want to be. But we don’t have the power to change. To fix ourselves.
The writers of all these stories knows that things aren’t going to get better all by themselves. If you just wait around, the best you can hope for is that things stay the same.
But things won’t stay the same. Will they? We all know that life doesn’t get better all by itself. By doing nothing. If you leave things alone, they never get fixed. Things only change from bad to worst.
Fresh turns stale.
Good turns evil.
Grass turns to weeds.
What’s working stops.
In all these stories, things don’t just get better. It takes people to do the restoration and remaking. But it doesn’t take a small team or a big organization to defeat evil. Even an army isn’t enough. Technology, as good as it is, can’t change the world by itself.
No, what all these stories have in common is a single person comes on the scene. They’re called a savior. A messiah. They lead an army of good people through a lot of battles of the followers of the evil one.
Eventually, the one, good person meets the evil one themself. There’s a great struggle. They fight with all their might. Back and forth. At one point, it looks like evil itself will win. But eventually, good triumphs over evil. The evil one and their followers are either destroyed or run for their lives, never to be heard from again.
Paul’s not wasting his time for a fairytale. He’s not investing his life for some story made up by someone long ago. He’s not giving every part of himself for some legend that might have happened.
No. Paul says that he’s all in for Jesus. He is the one that Paul talks about. The one that Paul points to. Jesus is the one Paul uses all his powers of persuasion to urge people to follow. Jesus is the topic, the main point of all Paul’s teaching and preaching.
There’s no better subject in the universe. There’s no one more worthy of Paul’s dedication. There’s no higher calling then to be a Jesus follower that tells everyone about their savior.
Jesus is the center of the universe. Period. God points to him. Giving him glory. Honor. Praise. He directs everyone and everything to worship at the feet of Jesus. No one else. Nothing else is even close.
It was true for Paul It’s also true for you and me. A life full of Jesus is the most fulfilling life possible. In him we’ll find our meaning and purpose. Jesus is the only one that not only can defeat the evil within, but also the evil without. The evil that infects our world.
Since Jesus is “the one,” we need to also respond to him. Fall at his feet in worship. Obey his every command. Say every word. Do every act of service and kindness. And it’s not for us, but for “the one.”
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