21st Presents

I had never seen so many platters, bowls, cups and vases in my whole life.

Colossians 2:1-23

Reference:  v.6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  For my 21st birthday I received many wonderful presents.  Traditionally people receive practical gifts for their 21st, in order to set up their home in years to come.  My birthday was no different.  I had never seen so many platters, bowls, cups and vases in my whole life.  However, by the time I had turned 21 I had already been living out of home for a couple of years.  I was living in a share house with a couple of friends and we had plenty of crockery and practical items filling up our shelves.  So, my parents allowed me to store many of my wonderful gifts at their house.  They were all packed up in boxes and placed in the back of my old bedroom cupboard.  A few years later, when I got married, my mother reminded me that I had all these gifts still filling up her cupboard.  I went over to her house to find all these great, practical gifts that I had completely forgotten about and that I was now able to use in my new home.

Application:  When we receive Jesus into our lives it is the most wonderful gift that we could ever be given.  And yet often, as our life goes on we can get in the habit of storing Jesus in the cupboard to access later.  I've spoken to a number of people recently who have confessed to me that they have put their faith in the cupboard.  They haven't said it in those exact words but they tell me that they did believe in Jesus, it's just that their faith doesn't have much relevance to their current life.  I can see that they have put Jesus in a box and they'll wait for a while before they feel they need Him.  The problem is, many people forget that He's there and they don't always have people in their lives to remind them.  When we have Jesus in our lives we need to put Him in pride of place.  He does not belong in the cupboards of our lives but He is someone we can commune with every single day.

Prayer:  Lord, forgive us when we push You aside.  We think that other things in this world are more important.  May we put You in pride of place in our lives.  Amen.

Where have you placed Jesus?  Is he in the cupboard or in pride of place?

Colossians