"Set Your Heart and Mind on Things above"

Set Your Heart and Minds on Things Above

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. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Being born again to live in the kingdom of God calls for a dramatic shift in our heart posture, what we arbor in our hearts and, our thought patterns. God comes to us and says, “Set your heart on things above and set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

”But we may wonder, “If we ignore earthly things that need to be taken care of, won’t our lives just become more chaotic?

Is God really telling us to quit focusing on the day-to-day matters all around us?”

Setting our hearts and minds “on things above” has to do with leaving our old sinful lives behind so that we can put on the new life we are called to live in Christ.

Instead of living in “immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed,” we are called to show “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,” and forgiveness. We are to live as the people of God’s kingdom.

This means we regularly spend time with God, reading and studying the Bible, praying, worshiping, enjoying fellowship with other believers, learning from other Christians.

In this way our earthly lives become increasingly focused on the greater purposes and good that God has in store for us while we live for him in this world.

If, however, we spend each day immersed in our old, selfish ways and in the false promises of the world, we will find ourselves drifting away from the full life God wants for us.

We just need to ask Jesus to draw our hearts and minds to focus on living for him. Starve out our sinful earthly desires and bring us to flourish as joy-filled citizens of His eternal kingdom. Amen.