Keep Christ At The Center Of It All

7/1/2025

Elijah McSwain, Sr.

Colossians 3:17 NKJV — And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The dictionary gives several important definitions for the word “center”. The way in which the word “center” can first be defined as (1) a point, pivot, or axis around which anything rotates or revolves. A second definition of the word "center" refers to it as the source of an influence, action, or force. The final definition of the word "center" suggest that it is a point, place, or person upon which interests, emotions, desires, and a person's livelihood focuses on. 1 As humanity embarks upon life there will be things that attempt to have a gravitational pull on every individual. Certain things will rise up in influence and power as a means of trying to become the centerpiece of our lives. There will be many things in life that seek to be a source of importance, a source of leverage or a dominating factor by which the human populace is governed by. As every person progresses in life or enters a new phase within the ranks of humanity, different individuals and elements will attempt to infiltrate their minds as a source of reasoning. Within the scope of this attempt, other people or things will seek to get us to use our God-given abilities, gifts, talents and intellect for the wrong purpose. Thus, it is imperative for every human being to know the difference between using our knowledge base and gifts for the right purpose in contrast to the wrong purpose.

As we endeavor to journey throughout life, it is crucial that we will always keep Christ at the center of it all. When we keep Him at the center of it all, He will always steer us in the right direction. If the Lord is not kept at the center of it all then other sources of influence will eventually control us. Ultimately, this will lead us down the wrong path. The world has it proposed agenda for your life, but God has greater plans for your life. If I may borrow the words of Jeremiah 29:11 in a broader scope to encourage us in this manner, the verse is written, "for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Since Christ is our only hope, we should strive to keep Him as the centerpiece of our lives. As we peruse through the designated topic, let’s explore several components for keeping Christ at the center of it all.

Live A Christ-centered Life

"In 2004 Matt Emmons had the gold medal in sight. He was one shot away from claiming victory in the 2004 Olympic 50-meter three-position rifle event. He didn’t even need a bull’s-eye to win. His final shot merely needed to be close to the center of the target. Normally, the shot he made would have received a score of 8.1, more than enough for a gold medal. But in what was described as “an extremely rare mistake in elite competition,” Emmons fired at the wrong target. Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in lane three. His score for a good shot was tallied at zero because he shot at the wrong target. Instead of a medal, Emmons ended up in eighth place. Needless to say, it doesn’t matter how accurate you are if you are aiming at the wrong goal. Many people invest their entire life aiming at the wrong goal." 2 Parenthetically, it is the intent of this written framework to challenge every reader to aim at the right target by keeping Christ at center of it all.

In whatever endeavors that you take pursuit of in relation to what is deemed right in the eyesight of God, keep Him at the core of it. Do not forsake Him to seek other alternative objectives in your purpose and ambition. Allow your spiritual dial to be set on Jesus Christ as your focal point.

Here in Colossians 3:17, the Apostle Paul urged his audience that whatever they did in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Essentially, what he was informing them

that whatever they pursued as Christians in speech and conduct, they were to make sure that Jesus was attached to it. Every word or deed that was to be spoken or done was not to be detached from the name of the Lord. In like manner Grant Richison verbalized "whatever we do, whether by lip or life, creed or conduct, with a given norm in mind do it “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” The “name of the Lord Jesus” means under the authority and approval of Jesus. The approval of Jesus gives dignity and purpose to all we do for Him. Everything we do must fall under the motivation of the approval of Jesus." 3 The spiritual life that we have been called to live should not be detached from our occupations and life’s work in the secular setting. As Christians, we are called to reflect Christ everywhere. This is all-inclusive of both our private and public life. We are called to reflect Him at home, in our educational pursuits, in the workforce, and in the greater society. We are to project Christ in the respective sector of life where He has placed us. In order to accomplish this, every individual needs to rely upon the Lord by making sure that He is positioned at the center of our lives.

The terminology used by Paul as it relates to the usage of the word “word” specifies that the faculty of our speech in our day-to-day communication should glorify God. The intent in what we say should glorify God. How we interact with others should glorify God. The language pertaining to the word “deed” speaks to our labor, occupation, employment, business, and enterprise. The word "deed" speaks to the realism of how we should perform our designated crafts in such a manner that Jesus is seen in our work. Paul Tripp wrote, "a Christ-centered life begins with realizing that the source of everything we are, is the Lord. He created us, He owns us, He gifted us with talents, He authors our story, and every blessing that we receive comes from Him." 4

Our lives should be a representation of Jesus. Everything that we do should stem and project from the Lord if His Spirit abides in us.

He is the center around which our daily choices, desires, ambitions, goals, aims, and influence should revolve in life. Romans 12:1-2 helps us to keep the aforementioned statement in a proper perspective on the basis of how our lifestyle should be operational and functional. Romans 12:1-2 is written "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." We are called to be an instrument in whatever we do for the Lord. As Christians, the entire trajectory of our lives in service, speech, and conduct should be done for the glory of the Lord. In all that we do, that is right before God, let us do it as a living sacrifice and in an honorable manner.

Paul Tripp further stated "a Christ-centered life has one ultimate goal: that Jesus gets the glory. It’s not wrong to pursue personal goals, but the glory of Christ is the orienting compass that gives direction to all others. Because we want Christ to be known, honored, worshipped and obeyed, we submit every other attainable goal to Him. Our decisions are no longer controlled by selfish desires, but by new desires we get from His love." 4

The world will try to mold a person's ambitions and desires. The world will try to get us to cut corners. The world will try to get all of humanity to advance our way forward by deceptive means to reach the top of economic status. Companies will attempt to stroke our egos to persuade us to give in to their corrupt agendas. However, we must stand firm in the Lord and hold true to being a person of integrity in all that we aspire to accomplish in word and deed. Believers are to keep Christ at the center of it all by being a light in dark places or environmental settings, to be a witness through our example, and to be a difference maker in our speech. The glory of the Lord should radiate and permeate through the lives of His children as we align our way of life with His will.

In whatever Christian service or area of ministry, as well as our occupations, we should not allow money, power, prestige, social influence, accolades, or economic preference to steer us in the wrong direction. Christians should not become consumed with materialism and ideologies that cause us to lose focus on keeping Jesus at the center of it all. Mark 8:36 (NKJV) poses the question, “for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" The world will say that to be successful, you have to detach yourself from your moral values, your biblical convictions, and your faith in God. The world’s system wants you to compromise by turning away from God. However, I want to assure you that true success comes from keeping Jesus at the center of all that you do.

Keep your focus on the right spiritual mark by seeking Him first.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) declares, “but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." If a person wants to be successful, keep Christ above all else and reflect Him well in all that is committed unto your hands, because He is our standard.

Give Thanks To God In Everything You Do

Paul concluded verse 17 by saying and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Paul emphasized that we should acknowledge God, give recognition to God, and display gratitude toward God for allowing us the capacity to live out what we do in alignment with living a Christ-centered life, as shown in our words and deeds. The apostle Paul understood that it is through Christ that we give thanks to God for allowing us the mobility, speech capacity, and rationality to perform what we are able to do. Albert Barnes once wrote, “through Him or in His name, all our actions are to be accompanied with thanksgiving. We are to engage in every duty, not only in the name of Christ, but with thankfulness for strength and reason. For the privilege of acting so that we may honor Him, and with a grateful remembrance of the mercy of God that gave us such a Savior to be an example and guide.” 5

We are to give thanks for what we do, since all things are from Him. Therefore, praise and thanksgiving should be directed to God.

Romans 11:36 emphasizes "for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." The Lord is the ultimate source for directing our path in life. The Lord is the cause of allowing things to unfold in our lives. The Lord gave us our abilities so that we can perform certain tasks in our respective fields within society. The Lord is the One who has birthed gifts within us. For this reason, He deserves our praise and thanks in our words and deeds. What God permits us to do should spring forth praise and worship in our words and work. The lyrical composer Charlie LeBlanc wrote a song "I will bless Thee, oh Lord, I will bless Thee, oh Lord, with a heart of thanksgiving, I will bless Thee, oh Lord." This should be every Christian's anthem of praise unto God. Psalm 9:1 reveals, "I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works." In our Christian service and occupations, we should testify of His marvelous work. Furthermore, Ephesians 5:20 records "give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." This implies that if we keep Christ at the center of our lives, then thanksgiving will be automatic. This automatic reflex comes from our understanding of who He is in light of what we do.

Charles Spurgeon once mentioned, "if we gratefully acknowledge what we have, we shall be in better heart for obtaining that which as yet we have not received." 6 We have much to thank God for relating to the total sum of our livelihood, for what we have accomplished, for our successes, for our victories, for overcoming obstacles that almost caused us to give up, and for opened doors in the past and opened doors that will be in the future. We should thank God for what lies ahead in the future, for what He has stored up for His children. The people of God should be grateful for new opportunities, for career growth and progress, for advancement, and for spiritual maturation and formation in our Christian walk. For all of the kindness of the Lord that has been shown toward us, the least that we can say is thank you.

The best way I can paint this act of thanksgiving is through a story. "A pastor stood at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and watched as a man in tears lay a wreath at the base of the memorial. The pastor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and the man said, “Twenty-five years ago he stepped into the line of fire for me, the least I can do is say, ‘Thanks.’” 7

The least we can do is tell the Lord thank you by the way that we live and the words that we speak. An attitude of gratitude will transform our perspective and understanding, revealing that Christ is the source of our dependence. The writings of Colossians 3:17 challenge every believer to honor the Lord in respect to every facet of life by keeping Christ at the center of it all.

References

1. Dictionary.com

2. https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/aim-for-the-right-goal

3. https://versebyversecommentary.com/1996/11/03/colossians-317/ 

4. https://www.paultripp.com/wednesdays-word/posts/what-is-a-christ-centered-life 

5. Barnes, Albert. “Commentary on Colossians 3:17”. “Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/colossians-3.html. 1870.

6. Spurgeon’s Quotes: The Definitive Collection

7. https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/the-least-i-can-do-is-say-thanks