Message Minute (Jesus, the Integrating Center)

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:17

Modern life has a way of fragmenting souls. Divided attention, scattered thoughts, split loyalties, and digital trauma all work together to break people into pieces. Social media creates inadequacy. News cycles breed anxiety. Constant connectivity prevents rest. The result is hearts that feel fractured and scattered.

But Jesus offers something beautiful - integration. He's not just involved in holding creation together; He's actively holding everything together right now, including fragmented lives. Paul uses a Greek word that means to cohere, to maintain unity. Jesus is like the hub of a wheel - everything radiates out from Him and finds proper relationship through Him.

Without the hub, there are just scattered spokes. Without Jesus as the center, life becomes fragmented pieces that don't connect. Hearts have places that have been wounded, fractured, hidden away - places where Jesus has never been invited to come. Those broken parts cry out for integration.

Maybe it's the part that feels inadequate and seeks validation through social media. Maybe it's the part that's anxious about the future and compulsively checks news. Maybe it's the part that feels lonely and fills that void with digital entertainment.

Jesus wants to enter those broken places and bring healing. This happens through what could be called the "prayer of descent" - going deep into the heart where Jesus dwells and allowing Him to speak to wounded, fragmented places. Instead of praying "outward" to a distant God, someone prays "inward" to where Jesus actually lives.

Reflection Question: What fragmented or wounded parts of your heart need Jesus's integrating presence?

Prayer: "Jesus, I invite You into the broken and scattered places of my heart. Be the center that holds all the pieces of my life together. Bring healing and wholeness where I feel fragmented. Amen."