Things Above

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  Colossians 3:2-3

Yesterday’s post (In View of God's Mercy) emphasized the critical phrase, “God’s mercy.” Our whole life depends on God’s mercy, so the person transformed by Christ owes everything to Him.

In Colossians 3, Paul makes a similar point: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). The uncommon life flows from Christ’s work. He raised us; we set our hearts and minds on Him. If we truly grasp what God has done in Jesus Christ, we worship Him and thank Him by turning to Him.

For just a moment, imagine attending a funeral where a young person’s body lay lifeless in a casket. Family and friends are mourning. It is a devastating scene. Imagine, however, that Jesus walks in the room, breathes new life into that dead body, and that young person sits up, walks around, and then lives for many more years. Where life had been cut short, it is restored. Where dreams had died, they are alive again.

Can you imagine the reaction of that dead person? Or the reaction of the family and friends who witnessed the spectacle? I imagine the celebration would last for a very long time! I imagine Jesus would have our attention … and our loyalty. Jesus could ask anything, and we’d give it. How could you not give your allegiance to the One who gave you such a gift?

“Unlikely!” we might say. That Jesus would come in and raise someone like that. Yet God has already done this for every one of us who is baptized into Christ. Not physically (yet). We do not see it with our eyes, but He has breathed new life into our dead spirits. We have been “raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1). It is a miracle, no less spectacular than the raising of a dead person.

AND … get this: the Bible tells us that the spiritual resurrection is a down payment, a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come — the resurrection of the body, eternal life. “Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). True, lasting life is ours in Jesus. Set your heart on Him. Become passionate about His kingdom, not the fleeting stuff of earth!

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the miracle of my resurrection. Help me turn my full attention to You, for You are my life. Amen.


#uncommon