“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3
In high school, I was a member of the Speech Club. After a few competitions, one realized that it was much easier to evoke fear, anger and sorrow than happiness. Consequently, with a bit of skill and practice it was fairly easy to do well with darker prose and drama. However, anyone choosing comedy had to really work to get the judges attention quickly and employ good timing to score well. This is true in life also. Because of our sinful nature, our tendency is toward fear, anger and sorrow rather than joy. As a result, we tend to focus on our problems and losses rather than what God is accomplishing through them and looking to Him for sustaining grace. Further, we often get so caught up in daily life that we neglect our relationship with God. That’s why Paul encourages the Colossians, the Romans and the Philippians to focus on “the things above” rather than our earthly circumstances.
This is a choice. Whether actively choosing or not bothering to think about it much, it is still a choice. If I have learned anything from the trials in my life, it is that the quality of my life is greatly impacted by my choices. Eventually, the majority of our choices can be sifted down to a choice between “the things above” and those which are “of the flesh” or put simply, our choices are either godly or worldly. In this statement I’m not encouraging legalism (addressed in chapter 2), but rather a practical evaluation… and I do realize that there is little eternal significance to a decision to wear a blue shirt or a red one. However, what we eat, how we take care of our bodies, how we spend our money and time, and how we interact with others do come down to decisions that reveal our mindset. For example: are my food choices generally healthy and, therefore, taking care of my body (which is God’s temple) or destructive; do I exhibit good stewardship in my spending or am I selfish and wasteful; and in my thoughts and speech am I edifying or damaging. While this is not an exhaustive list, it’s evident that our choices indicate whether we are pleasing ourselves and/or the people around us or we are seeking to serve God and draw near to Him. As Romans 8:6-7 reminds us, this is a black and white issue, either we are pleasing ourselves and men and are therefore hostile toward God or we are honoring God.
Too often we forget that until Christ returns, the world is Satan’s realm. However, the good news is that Christ’s life and death has invaded the world with truth and light. Paul opens this chapter with a reminder us that we who have chosen to follow Christ, are “raised up with Christ” and abide with Him. It is that relationship which gives us the authority and power to overcome our human nature as well as cultural teachings and choose to live for God. Therefore, Christ not only sustains the earth and our lives, but also gives us the power to live well in service to our Sovereign Lord.
Because we have given our lives to Christ, we relinquish our wants, desires and possessions to Christ seeking to become like Him and aligning our will to the Father’s. As discussed, it’s no easy thing to do, but seeking to please God has benefits in this life as well as for eternity. When we live in the power of Christ and maintain an eternal mindset, we are also choosing the aesthetics of our lives on earth. We are opting to live a life filled with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, thankfulness, love, peace, wisdom, truth, and hope rather than bitterness, wrath, anger, malice, immorality and greed. In other words, we are choosing a peaceful existence with God rather than a restless and discontented life in hostility to God. With respect to eternity, we electing to live in the presence of God rather than suffering punishment without Him.
When laid out like this, the choice seems to be a fairly obvious one. Unfortunately, we get distracted and things to seem to be less clear as we focus on our situation rather than the truth of scripture. If you’re like me, you may feel a bit beaten up when you read Colossians 3 or passages like it. However, we would do well to remember that Paul is speaking to Christians, who like us, have chosen to live for God but fail at times. It is a reminder to stay focused on the truth of scripture and remain vigilant in a life of godliness. When we fail, we must confess our sin and accept God’s grace as we seek to grow closer to God with every experience of our lives.
Where is your focus? Have you been able to maintain an eternal mindset as you face the routine and challenges of life or has your focus shifted to those things that will eventually no longer matter? Together let us make the effort to keep a proper perspective so that whatever we do in word or deed, we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Live well,
Will