Dependence

Dependence can be defined as, the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else. We see the word dependents on our taxes, we look for people to be “dependable,” and we all run to things that we rely on or are controlled by.

We can make this more personal. What can you classify in your life as something or someone that you depend on?

For the sake of the argument, as you think about the question, I will assume that the list is long. I can give a short example. I am very young, but as I have matured, I continue to take an honest assessment of what I am depending on too much. Currently, as my wife and I have made a transition to living in a different community, I am depending too much on friendship. I must remember that God is enough, whether I have fifty friends or five.

I would beg you to consider Colossians 1:15–16.

“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.”

This may seem to not relate to the topic of dependence at all. However, let me explain the implications of this short passage.

We must be dependent on Jesus Christ. Why? Because he is the exact imprint of who God is. He holds everything and anything that is in our universe. This ties into dependence because it is vanity to depend on something finite, when we can lean into what the creator of the universe has for us.