Passage: Ephesians 1:10
The Big Idea
The world looks like it’s falling apart, and sometimes our own lives do too. But God has revealed the mystery of His will: in the fullness of time, He will gather together all things in Christ. Jesus made everything, holds everything together, and will one day make everything right. To the extent we put Him at the center of our lives, we’ll be held together too.
Peace in the Face of Death
In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake for his witness for Christ. The night before his execution, his brother offered to stay with him in his cell for comfort. Ridley declined, saying he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as he ever had in his life. He knew the peace of God. He could rest in the everlasting arms of his Lord.
We have that peace. But the world doesn’t know that kind of assurance. Many would agree with Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Life … is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
But we’ve been told we were chosen before the foundation of the world to be adopted by God.
All Things Gathered in Christ (Ephesians 1:10)
Paul says that in the administration of the fullness of the times, God will gather together in one all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth, in Him (Ephesians 1:10).
It’s all going according to schedule. Everything is progressing exactly as God has planned and purposed.
Even when the world is confused, perplexed and worried, we have a better idea of what’s really going on.
Turn on the news any day of the week: wars, threats of war, nations in turmoil, peace in the Middle East looking like an impossible dream. People are looking for answers. Where is it all going? How will it all end?
And some people get so overwhelmed by the uncertainty that they just escape: TV, video games, golf, sports, work, parties. Any of these can become an escape from life’s dilemmas.
But escape doesn’t work. The boxer Joe Louis, warned that an opponent would try to dodge him with speed, famously said, “He can run, but he can’t hide.”
We have something far better than escape. We know Jesus is coming back. He’s going to restore everything to the way it’s supposed to be. He’ll fix every problem and make all things right. There will be no wars or injustice in the kingdom that’s coming.
You can’t see that by reading the news. It’s the mystery revealed to us in the Bible.
We know where we’re going, and we know why we’re here. We can read the headlines and ask, “How does this fit into God’s plan?”
Made by Him and for Him
Paul says that by Jesus all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
You were made by Jesus and for Jesus. Everything was made for Him. You weren’t made just for fun, or for TV, games, golf, sports, work or parties.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).
Think about an atom. At its center, the nucleus is packed with positively charged protons. But like charges repel each other, like magnets pushed together the wrong way. So what keeps the nucleus from flying apart? Physicists call it the strong nuclear force, an incredibly powerful force that binds the nucleus together. Science can describe what holds things together, but Scripture tells us who: Jesus is upholding all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).
Something is holding all things together. Actually, Someone is.
When He Lets Go
So what will happen when this old earth has run its course?
Peter reminds us not to forget that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. The Lord isn’t slow about His promise, as some count slowness; He’s patient, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will melt with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up (2 Peter 3:8-10).
The very elements will melt! For centuries people wondered what that could mean. After the atomic age began, many readers saw it with new eyes. Whatever exactly that day looks like, the One who holds every atom together can certainly let them go.
Didn’t know you were getting a science lesson today, did you?
Is Your Life Falling Apart?
Do you feel like your life is scattered, pulled in a million directions? Relationships a mess? Nothing coming together?
Everything in this world falls apart eventually. Brand-new stadiums develop cracks. Ancient ruins crumble in the rain. Whole nations collapse into violence and chaos.
Why? Why is everything falling apart? Why is my world falling apart?
To the extent you put Jesus at the center of your life, the King on the throne of your life, you’ll be held together too.
And whenever we push Him out, things start falling apart.
But when we understand the mystery of His will, that it’s all about Him and His love for us, we’ll have peace. We’ll be held together.
Have you ever bought something that eventually broke? I’m pretty sure everything I’ve ever bought has broken. (Except my Apple stuff, of course.)
When our focus is on anything other than Jesus, it’s going to break our hearts.
- Computers, health, cars, houses, retirement accounts, salaries, relationships: they’ll all fail you eventually.
- But if we keep Jesus on the throne, He never fails.
So when your team loses the big game, it’s okay. History is headed toward the end, when Jesus fixes everything. When a relationship ends, when your boss says it isn’t working out, when your car breaks down: He’s still holding it all together.
A Towel or a Basin?
One more powerful application. Look at John 13.
Before the Passover, Jesus knew His hour had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own, He loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into Judas’s heart to betray Him. And Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, laid aside His outer garments, and took a towel (John 13:1-4).
Talk about a challenging situation:
- He was about to be betrayed.
- Within hours He would be tortured, judged, abandoned, rejected, beaten, mocked and killed.
If anyone had the right to throw in the towel, it was Jesus that night. Instead, He picked up a towel and began serving the very people who were about to make His life so hard.
A few hours later, another man faced a stressful situation. Pilate was under enormous pressure to keep the peace in Jerusalem. Suddenly the crowd was out of control, screaming for a man’s death, and Pilate’s own position was at risk. His world was falling apart. What did he do? He picked up a basin and washed his hands of the situation (Matthew 27:24). “I’m done with other people. I need to look out for me.”
Contrast them:
- Pilate: falling apart. Self-centered. Done with others. Frazzled, fragmented, frustrated.
- Jesus: totally together. Others-centered. Refreshing others. Calm, peaceful, faithful.
Why the difference? Jesus knew the mystery. He knew the Father’s love, and that the Father had given all things into His hands. It’s all about Him.
Grace Takeaway
All of heaven and earth are about Jesus, and one day God will gather everything together in Him. He’s already holding every atom in place, and He can hold your life together too. When everything seems to be falling apart, don’t reach for the basin; reach for the towel. Put Jesus at the center, rest in the Father’s plan, and let Him hold you together.
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