And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Colossians 1:18
It’s that time again. Time for our local elections. When I say local, I mean all the elected officials in our city and county. This includes representatives, judges, and our sheriff. Some of these positions are hotly contested with lots of yelling, screaming, and spending to get peoples attention so they will vote.
But there’s none of that when it comes to our sheriff. Grady Judd’s been sheriff of Polk County since 2004. His term is four years and he’s easily been reelected each time. His popularity is so high that he ran unopposed in 2020. When it comes to Polk County, there’s no doubt what so ever that Sheriff Grady Judd’s in charge.
Think about it for a minute. There are so few places in life when there’s no doubt about who’s in charge. I won’t even bring up politics where there’s just so much bad feeling, disagreement, and disappointment over our national leadership. As I write these words, the approval rating for congress is at 18%. And I don’t see it improving anytime soon. It’s not supposed to be that way when it comes to the Christian church, the body of Christ. We’re to be united. On the same team. On the same side. There’s not to be any division[1].
While I can’t speak for you, these words just stick in my throat. There’s not to be any division inside the body of Christ. And just so we’re all on the same team, this doesn’t include denominations, organizations, and even political parties that claim to be Christian. Or they’ve inserted some kind of spiritual Christian-sounding word in their name and website.
The body of Christ, the community of Christians is just that. It’s the people of God. Yes, there’s has to be some kind of organization. Yes, there has to be some structure. But the one calling all the shots must be Jesus and Jesus alone. No one else is qualified or worthy. There’s no room for anyone else at the top. And oh, by the way, this unity isn’t a suggestion. It’s not up for a vote. We’re to be together, united in Jesus, when it’s easy and even when it’s hard. When we agree and don’t agree.
Unity isn’t like the seasons of the year, here today but changing soon. Unity’s not here today and gone tomorrow. It’s not like a tomato plants that grows and produces fruit. But then, when it’s all done growing and producing, it shrivels up and dies. Unity’s not like tides in the ocean. It comes in and then it goes out.
As a matter of fact, unity within the body of Christ isn’t like most things here on earth. It’s not like anything physical. Everything we can touch is going to change, and not in a good way. All living things are going to get weaker and eventually die. Unity’s different than anything in this world.
But then again, unity’s like how love is supposed to be. Love wasn’t made to be stagnant. It’s not made to slide backwards. Love is not even made to tread water. Love is made to grow. To get stronger. To grow. To thrive. To flourish. That’s the way unity’s go grow. But unity isn’t the end. There’s a reason for our unity. And that purpose is so that Jesus will have supremacy. That Jesus will be first. First in our life. First in our hearts. First in our minds.
No matter the line that we’re standing in, we’re to step aside and let Jesus go first. He get’s to go first. We have to be ready to put down our agenda and time schedules so that he can be first in our life.
Several times in my life, I’ve been in the same area as the President of the United States. When he’s on the move, everyone and everything stops. Police cars and big black SUVs with flashing lights block off intersections so the President can go first. I was flying back to New York and our flight was put into a holding pattern so Air Force One could take the President in ahead of everyone.
Now with the President, we didn’t have much choice. There was no way I could get the vehicles to move out of my way. And there wasn’t anything that I could do or say to the pilot to get us to land on time. But when it comes to unity, we do have a choice. We can choose to let Jesus be who he is. He is out great God and king. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our great high priest. Our great shepherd of the sheep.
So, are we willing to step aside and let Jesus have supremacy in our lives? But not just in our individual life, but in how we live and relate to his people? Are we willing to let someone else go first? Someone else to make a decision that we don’t necessarily go along with?
If we sing that line from a famous hymn, “and crown Him Lord of all,” are we willing to let him be Lord of how I live within the body of Christ? Are we going to take off the crown of our life and put it on Jesus? Are we ready to step aside and let him be first? First in our life. First in our decision making. First in how we move forward.
The way we answer these questions really shows us who’s in charge. In charge of our life. In charge of our heart. The only thing stopping us is us. No one else can. We either put him in charge or ourselves. It’s that simple, and yet it’s that hard.
Noodling Questions
How do you feel when you have to pull over to let someone pass?
In which gear is love in your life? Reverse? Neutral? Low? Passing?
When it comes to love, who’s in charge? Why? How?
[1] 1 Corinthians 12:25