Seek those things above
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
We were visiting a meeting once, and I was asked to preach the Gospel. I began by saying how nice it was to back be in Keswick. A friend at the back of the hall shouted out, “Gordon, you’re in Alnwick!” Alnwick is a lovely town in Northumberland, about 120 miles from Keswick (which is in the Lake District), so I was not too far off! It reminded me of being invited once to take a Sunday School prize-giving in Bradford. We arrived in plenty of time, but the hall was in complete darkness. We were confused, when it suddenly dawned on me the prize-giving was in Leeds!! It is surprising how fast you can travel from Bradford to Leeds when you set your mind to it! June tells me I make mistakes because I am thinking about one thing while doing something else.
Paul had a clear spiritual mind. He encouraged the Colossians to “seek those things which are above” and to “set (their) minds on things above”. He reminds them that they are raised with Christ. This is a difficult concept. Here we are on earth, living in a material world, but Paul is saying we are raised with Christ, who is at God’s right hand. He goes further by saying our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Paul explains we possess life in Christ now and live in the good of it by faith. One day we shall experience its fulness when we “appear with Him in glory”.
But Paul is also explaining that the life we have in Christ in heaven now is the power which enables us to live life abundantly on earth. You only have to look at the example of the first century Christians, and the Christian faith’s rapid expansion, to see lives moved so powerfully by Christ from heaven through the Holy Spirit. Paul was a living testimony to this reality. We were thinking on Christmas Day morning about how God moved earth and heaven in reference to His Son. One day He will move His entire creation to own Jesus as Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). But right now He is still moving the hearts and lives of His children in this world. Through their faith, faithfulness and fruitfulness, they endeavour to live for God. And how does this happen? By setting our minds on the things above.
The Lord Jesus told us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34). The beginning of 2021 is not a time for resolutions, but a time to seek the Lord and ensure our lives are focussed on Him. It is a time to have faith in His promises and embrace the spirit of Hosea’s words:
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (Hosea 10:12).
The Lord promises:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye (Psalm 32:8).
To be guided by His eye, we have to look into His face.
