Bible Passage: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15 NIV)
Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
We just bought a home that was built in 1867. It is as old as Canada itself.
While the house certainly shows some signs of its age, it looks set to last another 100 years.
There’s something about the old ways—the quality and craftsmanship, the care and artisan approach that old methods required—that kindles deep admiration for both product and process. Such work led to products that were both beautiful and durable.
Men seem to build their identity the same way: slow, methodical, deliberate, brick by brick, achievement by achievement. Title, income, reputation, ability to provide and protect, each a carefully laid course of bricks in the fortress of our image and identity.
We may not even know that our identity is built from these bricks until they lie scattered on the ground and we find ourselves with questions whose possible answers frighten us.
This week, we’ll be exploring Paul’s letter to the Colossians, discovering that Paul places Jesus squarely in our sights.
Christ is not one resource among many; Jesus is the one place our eyes need to be fixed, the anchor that holds when the waves of life heave us.
Early in the letter, Paul pens perhaps some familiar words about Jesus:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15 NIV).
This is a theological monument!
A declaration of Jesus’s identity in the cosmic sense. But it’s not just theology, as grand as that theology is. Because this is who Jesus is, it’s the foundation of everyone who belongs to Him; that’s the vine to our branch.
What does that mean?
Men, we were made in the image of God—but our image has been bent and warped, funhouse-mirrored by sin.
Christ is the true image. The original design uncorrupted by sin. Jesus is where our identity, self-worth, and self-image are grounded. It is Jesus who roots us and builds us. We grow from Him.
What voices tell you who you are? Work? Family role? Past failures? Toughest season?
None of those last. None of those whispers the final word.
Christ is the image of the invisible God—if you belong to Him, that image is the root beneath you, and it is what you are growing from. The grounding of your identity.
Let Him define you. It’s the only definition that will hold.
Prayer: God, it is an ongoing struggle to know who I am and to find my value and identity in the right places. So many ideas compete for my belief. Help me to know and understand that Jesus is my true vine and that my branch grows from Him. Amen.
Reflection: What voice is the loudest in your self-identity? How can you surrender that to re-formation in Christ?
Copyright © 2026 Impactus. All rights reserved.
About
