The Center of Gravity: Who or What Holds Your World Together

Sticky Statement: When Christ is your center of gravity, your chaotic world finds its perfect orbit, empowering you to make disciples.

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Gravity.

It's a powerful, invisible, constant force.

We don't see it, but our existence depends on it.

It keeps us anchored, gives things weight, holds the moon in orbit.

Without it: instant chaos.

Cats seem to have a love-hate relationship with this force.

It completely defies it when scrambling up the curtains at 3 a.m.

But then it uses gravity with surgical precision to knock my one, full cup of coffee off the counter.

It's a force that can be used for good or for... well, for creating a mess.

But you can ask any astronaut who has spent months on the International Space Station what they miss most about Earth.

It's not the food.

It's not the weather.

It's gravity.

Floating is fun for a little while, but they'll tell you there is a deep, human need to feel anchored, to have your feet planted firmly on the ground.

We were designed to be held.

Tension

Imagine trying to live in a world without gravity.

For a second, it sounds fun—effortless floating!

But the reality would be terrifying chaos.

No stability, no anchor, just aimless drifting and crashing.

This is what happens when we build our lives around the wrong center.

Career as center? A layoff sends you spinning.

Relationship as center? A breakup leaves you weightless and lost.

Self as center? We don't have enough "mass" to hold anything together.

I know what it’s like when your world flies apart.

When the thing you thought was your anchor gives way, and you feel yourself drifting into chaos.

We all know that feeling of being un-tethered, of looking for something solid to hold onto.

The question for all of us is, what's holding your world together?

Truth

It’s in that moment of instability, when we're looking for an anchor, that we turn to a letter written nearly 2,000 years ago.

The Apostle Paul is writing from a Roman prison to a group of believers in a small city called Colossae.

He's heard from their pastor, Epaphras, that they are facing this exact problem.

They're being told by false teachers that their center isn't strong enough.

That they need to add things to it—secret rules, special rituals, the worship of angels—to keep their lives from flying apart.

They were being sold a faulty theory of spiritual physics.

So Paul, out of deep pastoral love, writes this letter to answer that one core question:

What truly holds our world together?

His answer is a theological atom bomb of truth about a person named Jesus.

Alright, church, grab your Bibles—whether it's on your phone or in your lap—and open up with me to Colossians chapter 1.

Let's get into the Word and see the ultimate Center of Gravity.

The Foundational Rescue (vv. 13-14)

Colossians 1:13–14 ESV

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul starts not with who Jesus is, but with what He did.

v. 13: The Father "has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son."

This is the language of gravity! We were caught in the chaotic, dark orbit of sin, but God exerted a greater force—the gravity of His grace—and pulled us into the safe, life-giving orbit of Jesus.

For a church being tempted to fear dark spiritual powers, this is a declaration: you've already been rescued!

v. 14: In this new kingdom, we have "redemption, the forgiveness of sins." The weight of our past is gone.

Point A: The Source of All Existence (vv. 15-17):

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

v. 15: Jesus is the "image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

This isn't about being created; it's a title of supreme authority. He is the perfect representation of the Creator and holds the rights of the heir over everything.

v. 16: He makes it personal for the Colossians: "For by him all things were created... whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities."

Paul's message: Those spiritual powers you're being told to fear? Jesus created them. They are His subjects.

v. 17: Here's the key to our metaphor: "in him all things hold together."

He is the very force that holds every atom, every planet, and every spiritual authority in its proper place. He is the universe's Center of Gravity.

Point B: The Reconciler of All Things (vv. 18-22):

Colossians 1:18–22 ESV

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

v. 18: Paul pivots from the cosmos to the church. Jesus is the "head of the body, the church" and the "firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." He holds the church together just like He holds the universe together.

v. 19: Here's why He's enough: "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him."

Church, that means there is nothing lacking in Jesus. He is not Jesus plus anything. He is the all-sufficient, all-powerful Center.

v. 20-22: And how did He do it? He made "peace through his blood, shed on the cross" to "reconcile" us and "present you holy and blameless."

The cross is the event where His gravitational power was most focused, pulling a rebellious creation back into a peaceful orbit with God. He took our chaos and gave us His peace.

Point C: The Purpose of His Orbit (vv. 23-28):

Colossians 1:23–28 ESV

if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

v. 23: Because He is the center, our lives now have a new trajectory. We are called to "continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel." We must remain stable in this new orbit.

vv. 24-27: Paul explains his own mission is to make known the "mystery," which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The Center of Gravity isn't just out there; He lives in us.

v. 28: He brings it all home to our mission: "He is the one we proclaim... so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ."

That's a disciple-making statement! That's the Great Commission! We are brought into a stable orbit so we can become a launching point to pull others out of the darkness and into that same life-giving orbit with us. You can't make disciples if Christ isn't your center of gravity.

Application

What does it mean to live a life centered on Christ's spiritual gravity?

It means living the life Paul prayed for in verses 9-12.

First, it gives us victory over sin.

When Christ is your center, the gravitational pull of sin in your life weakens.

You start to win battles you used to consistently lose.

Real accountability for real struggles, anchored in the power of Christ.

Second, it fuels our mission.

The freedom from the weight of guilt isn't just for our own comfort;

it's the fuel that empowers us to go make disciples.

You can't give away what you don't have.

A life anchored in Christ is a life that has something powerful to offer a drifting world.

Third, it anchors our spiritual disciplines.

Why do we read and memorize Scripture?

Why do we pray, why do we worship?

We don’t have a religious to-do list each week.

These are the disciplines that keep us tethered to our Center of Gravity.

They are the daily course corrections that keep us in a healthy orbit around Jesus, so we can "live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way" (v. 10).

Inspiration/Reflection

Imagine a life free from the anxiety of being your own anchor, securely held by a loving, constant, all-powerful force.

Imagine this church, not just as a well-ordered community, but as a disciple-making movement.

A place where every person is so securely anchored to Christ that they have the confidence and stability to go anchor someone else.

A church where the 'gravity' of Christ's love is so strong that it starts pulling people out of the darkness of our community and into His life-giving orbit.

That's not just a healthy church; that's a church that is fulfilling the Great Commission.

Action/Next Steps

The 'Gravity Check' is a great start, but an orbit isn't maintained alone.

My challenge to you is this: Don't leave here just thinking about your own orbit.

Who is ahead of you that you need to learn from?

Who will you walk beside in an accountable relationship?

Who will you start intentionally investing in and pouring your life into?

Prayer

The prayer, "Jesus, today You are my center," is powerful.