He Holds All Things Together
By John McCoury
Roan Mountain, Tennessee
“The Son is the gleaming brightness of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of God’s being. He uses His powerful word to hold all things together.” Hebrews 1:3 That is an amazing statement. It is put in the present tense, saying that He is the One who is keeping things going right now.
Stanford University is the site of a linear accelerator, a mighty two-mile-long atom smasher. It is a great lever with which scientists try to pry the lid off the secrets of matter and discover what is in the miniature world of the atom, the neutron, and the proton. Linear Accelerator scientists have discovered a complexity they never dreamed of, and they have found particles that they cannot even invent enough names for. But one thing they are consistently discovering is that there is some strange force that holds everything together. They do not know what to call it, and they do not know how to identify it. They talk about a kind of cosmic glue that holds things together. Isn’t it fascinating that here in the Word of God you have that exact kind of terminology used of Jesus! If you want a name for the force that holds the universe together it is very simple: His name is Jesus. He sustains the universe by His powerful word.
That is not only true of the physical universe, including our bodies and all that we are, but it is true of all the other forces and powers in the universe — physical, psychological, social, spiritual, whatever; He is in charge of them all. After the resurrection, when our Lord appeared to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee, in the most forthright terms, simple, artlessly, He said to them, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Matthew 28:18 This means He not only controls all the physical forces of the planet and the universe, but He controls all the events that occur upon them. This is something Christians tend to forget. We get so used to seeing things through the secular eyes of the media, and other information forces around us, that we forget that behind the events that fill the pages of our newspapers is a mighty controlling hand that brings them all together, permitting some things to happen, restraining other things.
I know that these events that capture our attention today are likewise going to seem faded and trivial soon. Yet they are not without meaning. The Bible tells us a mighty hand is shaping the destiny of nations and of individuals. All of these things have been and will always remain in the power of Him who sustains the universe by the word of His power. Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the One who holds all things together. Teach me to trust in you, even when things seem to be falling apart. Do we have a world view in which the Lord Jesus Christ is the centrifugal force? Is this merely intellectual — or does the power of His Presence translate into confident trust in the everyday events of our lives?
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John McCoury is pastor of Evergreen Freewill Baptist Church in Roan Mountain, Tennessee and the chaplain at Roan Highlands Nursing Center. You can read more good Christian news from John HERE.
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