Colossians 3:1-2

Colossians 3:1-2

 

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

We have the freedom to choose what we occupy our time with each day and we have the ability to determine what things our minds rest on. It’s easy to spend our days focusing and fretting over worldly things like wealth, status, and success. It’s easy to devote each day to working tirelessly to ensure we are always “winning”. It’s easy to focus on the negative, on everything we don’t have instead of dwelling on what we do have. We can get so wrapped up in pursuing worldly gain, that we lose sight of our intended purpose. And when each day comes to a close, we are no better off than when we started. In fact, we are likely more knotted up and stressed out when the sun sets that when it rose that morning. Through Christ, we no longer have a future of doom and gloom…we no longer have to somehow “work” our way into some level of victory. Through Christ we have a perfect promise of complete peace, joy, and rest. No matter how we land in terms of “worldly standards”, through Christ we are seen as perfect, blameless, and beautiful…each destined for a greatness that we can’t even begin to imagine. Focus on that each day…focus on that from sun up to sun down…and see if life doesn’t get better with each new day. Now don’t get me wrong…we are not intended to spend the days in some “fantasy” glazed kind of mindset, avoiding all challenges and conflicts, just hoping that God somehow makes everything smooth in the end. It’s not going to happen…we live in a broken world and must deal with challenges and conflicts with each new day. But as we handle those difficulties, we can choose what we focus on…we can choose what we set our hearts on. And whatever our heart is set on, our thoughts, words, and actions will reflect accordingly. When we focus on the ways of the Lord…the ways of forgiveness, contentment, confidence, peace, and righteousness…we will find that the mountains we must climb don’t seem so overwhelming. We will find that worldly things like money, success, and status no longer consume our days…they no longer hang a cloud over our heads throughout the day. And when we focus on the things above, we find true rest in this life. To God alone be the glory!