It Is About Jesus

Colossians 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 
 
WHEN you read the title of this devotion, “It is About Jesus” I hope you said to yourself, “I know that.” Sadly, though, many people do not know that Scripture is about Jesus. Jesus has become lost amid mankind’s preferences, traditions, and consuming passion for self-desires in the church. I’ve sadly have heard, “We need something more than Jesus.”
    Here’s a quote from the Teacher’s Commentary © 1997 on this scripture: “Many in the ancient world struggled against the idea of ‘new’. They were attracted to the church but tried to adjust Christ to fit their old categories. They tried to define Christianity in terms of their human philosophies rather than letting Christ define them as a new humanity.
    “We have the same problem. God designed the church to be a living organism. Yet today we still persist in creating its structure as a business rather than a body. The leadership is called to equip members of the body. Yet all too many Christians view the pastoral staff as people hired to do the teaching and evangelism that is the body’s ministry.”
    In the new church, false teachers tried to legalize the church. We still work hard to legalize worship, God’s Word, God’s grace and Jesus. We judge others who do not fit our view. We look for ways to criticize and separate instead of joining as one in Jesus. Paul adamantly tells the Colossians, “It’s about Jesus.” Paul reminds them that the Old Testament laws, holidays, and festivals pointed toward Christ. But they were “shadows” of Jesus, who came to bring his light to remove shadows. If we have Christ, we have what we need to know and please God.
 
Life Thought: What’s between you and Jesus?