Where is Pikes Peak?

My wife grew up in Colorado Springs, and the stately presence of Pikes Peak to the west helped her to orient herself in the city and to keep her directions straight. If you want to know where you are and where you’re going, just find Pikes Peak.

Sometimes life can be a confusing blur of pressures and opportunities, a swirl of daily routines and appointments, a collage of images and events and people. What am I doing here, and where am I going?

The other night I felt that vague sense of disorientation that comes from fatigue and stress. Not a crisis, but a sure sign that I needed to look again to the mountain.

I wrote in my journal: “What I know for sure.” Then I turned to Colossians 1, and starting at v. 13, I listed the following. Not particularly insightful, I admit, but a good reminder of who I am, where I'm going, and who I serve.

1. Jesus has a kingdom – 1:13.
2. He is beloved to the Father – 1:13.
3. He is the Son – 1:13.
4. In Him is redemption – 1:14.
5. In Him is forgiveness of sins – 1:14.
6. He is the image of the invincible God – 1:15
7. He is the firstborn of all creation – 1:15.
8. He is the agent of creation – 1:16.
9. He is the goal of all creation – 1:16.
10. He is eternal – 1:17.
11. He holds all things together – 1:17.
12. He is the head of the church – 1:18.
13. He is the beginning – 1:18
14. He is the firstborn from the dead – 1:18.
15. He deserves first place in everything – 1:18.
16. He is fully God – 1:19.
17. He reconciled all things to Himself – 1:20.
18. He makes peace by His blood – 1:20.
19. He reconciles sinners – 1:22.
20. He plans to perfect us and get us safely home – 1:22.
21. He is worthy suffering for – 1:24.
22. He is the great mystery revealed 1:27.
23. He is the subject of our preaching – 1:28.

We all need to look again at Christ. Though I believe the whole Bible is about Him, certain passages provide an immediate, rich, and detailed focus. I continually return to Isaiah 53, John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1. They're even better than gazing at a mountain.