In this week’s sermon, Antonio told us that Jesus is in control of all things, since he has “gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
What a powerful and encouraging thought that is. There is nothing in this universe that can threaten me, because everything in this universe is subject to Jesus.
According to Paul, that’s because everything in this universe belongs to Jesus:
By him 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).
Another powerful thought. Not only was Jesus the one who all these things were created by, he is the one all these things were created for!
Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper explained it this way:
When Jesus looks at his universe from his exalted throne at the right hand of the Father, and he sees the great galaxies whirling in space, the planets and the people upon this planet, and the minute details of our individual lives, there is nothing that he sees anywhere of which he cannot say, “Mine.”
Jesus owns all things, so he has control of all things. Even a one-year-old how this works. When my daughter was one, she thought she could look at anything and say, “Mine.” Toys her brother was playing with… “Mine!” Candybars in the supermarket… “Mine!” The keys to the car… “Mine!” She knew that if she owned it, that meant she could control it.
Jesus owns everything in our lives, and so he exercises intimate control over everything in our lives. He truly is a micromanager.
For some people, that thought is more worrying than comforting. It can sound like we’re nothing but a bunch of robots who have been programmed to respond in certain ways to the input we receive from God and the world around us.
Maybe an illustration from A.W. Tozer would help. He liked to look at life as if it was a cruise on an ocean liner.
When you get on a ship, you have no control over where it goes. It’s on a set course that’s not going to change unless you run into an iceberg .
But while you’re on the ship, you have all kinds of freedom. You’re not in chains. You can eat in the dining room, sleep in your cabin, play games, lounge around on the deck, go in the pool, and do anything else the owner of the ship has made available for you.
While you’re doing your thing, the ocean liner is still chugging away toward the port on the other side of the ocean. You’ll get there no matter what you choose to do while you’re on the ship.
That’s your life. And what’s the predestined port you’re heading for? It’s the place where you look a lot more like the owner of the boat and the manager of your life:
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29).