On things above...

Week 5:

Colossians 3:1-2 1Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.   2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Set our hearts and minds on things above.  This is so hard to do isn’t it?  I mean, how do we set out hearts and minds on things unseen, yet to come?  I believe that many have bought into this image of things above being people standing in white robes, with clouds all around, singing, and little angels flying amongst the clouds.  That image of heaven is boring.  However, it is an image that many carry.

 

So, what are things above if that is not the true image?  And why on things above if God has given this earth for us to live?  If we are thinking about the future, are we not present now? 

We get some hint into what Paul is saying from the prior verses.  Paul has just given some guidance around following human interpretation of God’s law.  In a nutshell, a pure following of law does not squelch the human desire to indulge and sin.  The law is behavior modification.  Setting our hearts on God, Jesus, and things above is heart modification.  The law is important to convict us of where we are.  Living in Christ takes us beyond conviction to proper living.

Notice what it says, “Since you have been raised with Christ…”  At the point of being raised with Christ is where behavior-response transforms into what Christ has done and here is how I follow him.  Even then, we have to be careful not to make it a set of rules.  Paul is warning and encouraging the Colossian church to stay true to the grace of Christ and avoid the rule-following of religious leaders.  Already, within just a few years of the death of Christ, religion was setting parameters and putting Jesus in a box.

This still rings true today.  We need the law in order to know where we stand.  We also need to understand grace and love in order to live in Christ.  The setting of our hearts and minds on things above means less about heaven and more about what Christ represents.   Grace, truth, love, compassion, and a life that is lived the same at home, work, and church.  To set are hearts and minds on things above is to live in Christ every moment and every day. 

“Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.   Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Questions/challenges:

1.        What has setting our hearts and minds on things above meant to you?

2.       Where did you gain the philosophy, from question 1, of this passage?

3.       How has this devotional thought swayed or changed your view of the passage?

4.       This week, ask God to reveal to you some ways this passage plays out in your life.  Watch and listen for answers.

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