The Things Above
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2
Many of us live our lives in pursuit of material things. We work obscene hours to pay for more stuff, a bigger house, nicer cars, and all the fancy electronics that one could think of. We go into debt to pay for things that we do not need and rent storage spaces to store all of our stuff. Isn’t that a strange concept? Storage units…to store things that you’re not using.
We like the things of this world a little too much, and material possessions are just one part of our issue. We seek out power and position and give into the desires of the flesh. We look for companionship in all the wrong places and try to fill voids in our life with any type of vice that will do. This is not how we were meant to live, though.
We’re told to store up treasure in heaven, where moth and dust cannot destroy. We’re told to set our minds on the things above - the things of God - not on the things of this earth. Doing these things shifts our living from the short-sighted, instant gratification of self to the longsuffering eternal fulfillment of Christ. We have a hope in Christ that those who are not in Christ do not have - this makes us different in every way.
So, how can we set our minds on the things above? By living in this hope. The hope that we have is indeed a future hope - a hope of things to come, but it is also a hope for this life. The hope of Christ is a present hope. A hope of a changed life. A hope of a changed status before the Lord. That status change, from death to life, is present. It is now. It is here. We can now come into the presence of the Lord with our prayers and petitions. We can kneel before His beauty and lift our hands in worship of who He is.
Embrace being different, knowing that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He is holding you in His hands and nothing can take you from Him. Rest in that, but also live in that.
