Above All Things

I'd been wanting to write this song for a while after listening to a podcast in 2015. The person being interviewed was talking about a phrase from Colossians in the Bible, which speaks of Jesus:

“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.”

The phrase ‘created through him and for him’ really hit home like never before. All that was created good and pure was through Jesus and for him.

Now to some that might seem offensive. Some might think Jesus sounds like the gods of the Greeks or Romans etc - capricious, greedy and wanting his creation's worship for himself.

But I believe those words are wonderfully rich and beautiful when you understand who Jesus is.

When you read that in context of Jesus coming to seek and save the lost and when you read it knowing that Jesus says if He sets you free, you are free indeed, it takes on a different tone.

You start to understand that this wayward world was never meant to look the way it does and God had a plan to make it right through Jesus. Most of all, Jesus cares about us because we were made through him and for him - we are dear to him like something we made with our hands and put ourselves into - which is what he did.

From that kernel of an idea I started to take the rest of the first chapter of Colossians and wrote the lyrics for Above All Things.

There's a lot more to unpack in this song but I think that's enough for now and in the end I love to hear what you take from these songs. It always fascinates me how songs speak to people in different ways.