Colossians 1:17 – Letting Go

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Summary: Today’s passage presents us with an interesting proposition to ponder. If Jesus holds everything together, what happens if he let’s go? The answer is not pretty.

Imagine, if you will, a world where there is no Jesus.

Keep in mind what the Bible says about Jesus:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1: 1-3)

In a very real sense, without Jesus, all creation would simply fall apart. Electrons would lose their charges and stop spinning around their nucleus. As atoms stopped working, molecules would fall apart. Without molecules, there would be no trees, grass, sky, or anything. It would all simply evaporate into an inert field of subatomic bits of matter. Eventually, even that would disappear.

But let’s imagine a world where the physical realm holds together without Jesus. What about our social world? What would happen to society without Jesus?

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). God, aka Jesus, also embodies holiness, justice, mercy, grace, faithfulness, and wisdom. So, let’s imagine a world without these things.

Without God’s holiness to guide us in matters of right and wrong, we each become our own moral compass. The result is ethical chaos, with everyone vying for the power to decide what is right.

If Jesus withdraws his justice, the world devolves into a “dog eat dog” society, where the strong force their will on the weak. No one has “rights,” and there is no protection for the weak.

Without God’s mercy, our world crumbles into a legalistic place where transgressions are met with harsh responses. If Jesus were to withdraw his faithfulness, there would be no basis for trust. Everything would be questioned, and every economy would collapse.

Imagining a world without God’s wisdom is not hard. We all become fools blundering around through life, making terrible decisions.

Without Jesus, society falls apart. Everyone is divided from everyone else. Suffering and oppression are everywhere. There is no mercy, and there is no hope. Like the universe, we all fall apart.

Application: Hold on to Jesus!

Food for Thought: How does the old saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” apply to people who reject Jesus Christ?

12 Replies to “Colossians 1:17 – Letting Go”

  1. The saying “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” refers to the idea of not harming or rejecting someone who provides for you or cares for your needs. In the context of rejecting Jesus Christ, this can be seen as a metaphor for rejecting the source of spiritual sustenance, salvation, and eternal life.

    For Christians, Jesus is viewed as the one who offers grace, forgiveness, and spiritual nourishment. By rejecting Him, one could be seen as turning away from the very source of life and hope that God offers. This saying can also highlight the idea that rejecting Christ is like rejecting the gift of love and sacrifice that He provides for humanity, as Christians believe that through Christ’s sacrifice, people are “fed” spiritually and brought into a relationship with God.

    In a broader sense, it emphasizes the consequences of ingratitude or rejecting the good that has been freely given, which in Christian theology, relates to the rejection of salvation offered by Christ.

    Commentary provided by ChatGPT

  2. When I was about 12, the neighbors had a small dog they left chained up outside in their backyard. It was a friendly dog. One day the neighbors left for a week and didn’t make provisions to feed the dog, so after about day three the dog was howling from hunger. I took some bread out to the dog and tore it up and put it in it’s bowl, with one large piece not making it into the bowl. I tried to grab the piece of bread to put it in the bowl, and the dog bit me on the hand.

    The old saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” largely speaks to ingratitude. It is focusing on the immediate present, with no thought to what came before or what comes after. It is also self-centered and greedy. So, to wrap that thought up, “biting the hand that feeds you” is a incontrollable desire to consume and satisfy self without recognizing the one who gave, or the one who will give in the future.

    In order for one to be in a situation like that and still be able to express gratitude to the one feeding them requires humility and vulnerability. To trust the one helping them.

    I think it applies to people who reject Jesus Christ in that the “hunger” they feel blinds them to anything other than their present condition. They reject the hope that Christ brings, hope for their entire condition, not just to satisfy their immediate need. Gratitude comes in knowing that despite the past, Christ makes provision for eternity, which fills the immediate need. This requires humility, vulnerability, and trust in Christ.

    John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

    1. Thank you, Chris!

      Your story brings the point to life! I especially like that you point out that hunger drives the reaction of the dog. It brings to mind Proverbs 6:30 —

      People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

      It is when we are motivated by greed or other less honorable passions of the flesh that biting the hand becomes despised.

  3. A well covered topic with responses already provided . To reject Christ is to reject life. To reject Christ is to spiritually starve.

    John 6: 35: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

    John 4: 13 – 14: Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

  4. Really great blog post brother! A world without God is not a world I want to live in. We need God’s mercy, his grace, and his love. I agree that without him, society falls apart, I think that’s pretty evident with the way the world is right now. God bless

    1. Thanks Omar!

      I agree with you, too! It is hard to think about this topic without realizing that the parts of our society that reject God have already fallen into this forlorn condition.

  5. Wonderful subject and comments today!

    How does the old saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” apply to people who reject Jesus Christ.

    We did not in our own power develop the faith we live in today. It is by the power of our creator God, whose Spirit of conviction has revealed His truth’s to our spirits, and given each the faith we have come to live in. The Bible, our source of all truth, tells us faith comes from the Word of God being planted in our heart.

    Jeremiah 17:7-8, “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and never stop producing fruit”

    Romans 10:17, Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Our faith becomes living, growing faith as we spend time in God’s Word. It only makes sense that if faith comes from the Word of God, and will dissipate in its absence. All those who drift away from the truths of God.

    Jesus is the author of our faith, Hebrews 12:2.
    Faith is the substance of things hoped for, Hebrews 11:1.
    Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, Romans 10:17.

    To reject the truths of God is to bite the hand providing our spiritual food rather than receiving and growing in the food being provided.

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