Jesus, Image of the Invisible God

Scripture         Read John 1:1-5
Focus Verse    Colossians 1:15    
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. 

Commentary:  Is it possible to have a visual image of something that is invisible?  Beyond the imagination I mean.  Well ... in this case, Yes! Christ IS the image of the invisible God but Christ is more than just an image, Jesus is real.  In the human being Jesus, we meet God face-to-face; nothing less than the presence of our Creator, God “with” us. Jesus, the Son of God, not only reflects the image of God, Jesus IS God. As human beings, we are shaped in the image of God, but we are not God. I think we know that but we may need reminders occasionally.  

At the time Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians, the Roman Empire's Caesar was proclaimed to be a God. Therefore, Paul's words could be considered rebellious to the empire.  For if Jesus is God, then perhaps Caesar is not ... God. While none of us, Caesars and world leaders included, are not God, we are all called to allow God to be visible in the world through us. And it is up to each one of us to discern what God in Christ looks like, through us, in the world today ...

Reflection: What “names” of Jesus evoke the sense and presence of God for you?  Why?  What name or names stretch you beyond your comfort zone?  What is God's invitation in your discomfort?
    
Prayer Breathing in … Invisible God
Prayer Breathing out … Be visible in me

If music is a spiritual pathway for you, listen to "Angels from the Realms of Glory," via YouTube video, in a performance that set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Live Nativity World Record with 1039 people.  The Piano Guys, Peter Hollens, David Archuleta, and The Tabernacle Choir joined lots of kids, moms, dads and other people in this beautiful arrangement.