I was recently reading an explanation of the solar system and how the sun, due to its greater mass, draws the planets with its greater gravitational pull. Because of this pull, the other planets line up in orbit instead of spinning off across space. Each planet has its own orbit and has smaller objects orbiting around it, such as the moon around the Earth. Therefore, the sun holds everything together because of its power to draw all things to it.
The solar system is a good metaphor for our lives. We sometimes forget that we are not the center of the universe as early scientists once believed that everything revolved around the Earth. The sun, or for the purpose of this metaphor, the Son is the center of the universe.
“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together”
(Colossians 1:17, NAS)
The “He” in this verse is Christ. When He is in the center, everything falls into place and follows the path that was laid out for it. If we think of people as solar systems and Christ as the sun, as long as He is in the center and has the greatest pull, then all the planets or aspects of our lives, line up in orbit in their proper places. If the pull of one of the planets is greater than the sun, then everything is thrown off balance and chaos can result.
It is easy for us to be distracted by different things in the course of our lives. When people first fall in love, they sometimes forget there is anyone else in the universe. When couples have children, they often say that their child is the center of their world. While this sounds loving and romantic, the truth of the matter is that only Christ has the right to be the center of the universe, the center of our lives. If we let anything or anyone else be the central focus, then we cause an imbalance in our world and things will spin out of control.
No human being is capable of holding all things together because we are human, but Christ is God. He was here from the beginning and participated in creation. Only He is capable of holding all things together, so he is the rightful center of the universe. When we put our focus on Him, then all the other things will fall into place. Only He has the power necessary to maintain the balance.
Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” When we focus on God, then all the other things in life will fall into place according to His Will, like the planets falling into orbit around the sun. We just need to take a moment and recalibrate our position in relation to the Son, and then everything else will eventually follow suit.