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.

Colossians 1:18

Are you familiar with the phrase – “running around like a chicken with its head cut off”? Today, most of us go to a grocery store to purchase a chicken for a meal but, I remember my mom describing for me of how her mom would remove a chicken’s head before it became part of a family dinner. Once the chicken’s head is removed, the rest of the body runs around frantically in a state of chaos before dying.

It’s probably not the best word picture to consider, but I think we all can acknowledge that the head is important to any body and this is especially true of the “body of Christ” – the church. As the head regulates the functions of the body, Jesus leads the church so that our lives have meaning and purpose.

In Ephesians, Paul describes this in a bit more detail regarding the power that is found in the resurrection of Jesus –

[God] worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1:20-23

We are not intended to live in chaos, running around frantically and accomplishing nothing. We are designed to play our part under the authority of Jesus in His ministry of reconciliation.