Followers of the Firstborn

The gospel writer John says about Jesus, "He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being."  (John 1:2-3)   In another place in the Word we hear the Apostle Paul bearing a similar witness as he says, "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."  (Colossians 1:15)  And finally the writer of Hebrews offers still another affirmation as he spoke of Jesus being the One "through Whom He also created the worlds."  (Hebrews 1:2)

The Pauline phrase, "the firstborn of all creation"  speaks of Jesus in a way that connects Him to all of the creation.  Often it seems that we see ourselves more as the masters of the creation, the ones who have dominion over all things, rather than as one who is to live in a connected relationship with every part of the creation which surrounds us.  Even as we are linked through the thread of conception and birth with others, so are we linked through Jesus to all that is a part of the earth we call our home. 

 

As those who bear the imprint of the essence of the Creator, we are to live with respect and reverence for every other living and non-living part of the creation.  Jesus is the One behind Whom and with Whom we walk as disciples.  He is the firstborn of all creation which includes each one of us.  We are only a part of this created order that He has brought into being.  Such an awareness should not only shape the way we treat each other, but it should also shape the way we view our care for the land, the way we eat our food, and the attitude we carry with us as we benefit from the many parts of the creation which bring benefit and life to us.