Heart for the House DevotionalSample

Day 3: The Head

Thought: Read. Think. Pray. Live.

“And he [Jesus] is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:18)

From buildings to bodies. Scripture uses many images to help us picture what it means to be God’s people. The past two days, we have been thinking in terms of a building. For the next two days, we will think in terms of a body. God’s people are like a body. Jesus is the head of that body – the brains, the command centre, the eyes, the ears, the mouth. You get the idea! He’s in control.

 As we think of Jesus as the head, we are reminded that He is first. The verse today speaks of Jesus as being “preeminent”. As God’s people, we can never get ahead of ourselves. Jesus must always take centre stage – above any Church system, process, idea or leader. We inquire of Him. We meditate on Him. We listen to Him. We obey Him. As the body devotes itself to the head, everything finds its place.

 If anything else takes first place in our lives – both as individuals, or as a community, the Bible calls it ‘idolatry’. Idolatry is essentially putting something that is not God in the place of God. This can be subtle. Our careers, our relationships, our busy lives, our desire for recognition or our pursuit of money can all quietly take up centre stage within the deepest parts of our being. Tragically, we lose our purpose and power when we give our devotion to idols. Jesus offers to restore our purpose and give us His power. 

 When we acknowledge Jesus as the head of the Church, it confronts the idols that may have crept into our lives - both personally and as a community. When we put Jesus first, then everything else is  back in order. A Church that is distracted by other pursuits or operating within its own strength will quickly fade or fall. A Church that is fully submitted to the headship of Christ will grow and flourish.

“The perfect Church service would be one we were almost unaware of. Our attention would have been on God” - C.S. Lewis.

Prayer and Application

Consider where Jesus may have fallen from being number one in your life. Acknowledge that, and make a simple plan to turn and prioritise Christ in that area. This is the biblical idea of repentance. For example, if your screen time is out of control, put boundaries in place. Make a plan to pray, walk or journal when you would usually be looking at a screen.

Pray: God, I am sorry for where I have not honoured you as King and Lord. I choose to put you back as the Head of my life. Help me to be formed by you, and not by the things of this world.