Seeds for 3/14/2023 - Colossians 3:1
Scripture: “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. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Observation: Once again in Colossians, Paul is anchoring his readers’ status and identity in Christ. Paul returns to that central fact over and over again. This is not the first time we’ve noted use of the word “since,” which substantiates or provides a rationale for the point he’s making. A few verses ago, it was to point out and call into question a negative behavior: “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules?” (2:20)
In this text, it’s to instruct and encourage them about a positive: “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is.”
The pattern is important: die with Christ to things of the world and they should be dead to you; raise to new life in Christ and be alive to the things of God.
We are what we love, in the parlance of theologian James K. A. Smith. The mind is important, but the desire of our hearts is profoundly significant in shaping our life’s direction and choices. We love what we set our hearts on. In other words, we don’t simply have loves, we cultivate our loves by what we set our hearts on. So, when we set our hearts on things of the world like wealth, fame, human admiration and affirmation, possessions, status, etc., we are actively shaping and cultivating what we love and what sort of person we will become.
On the other hand, when we set our hearts on “things above, where Christ is,” we find ourselves growing in love for what God loves. We develop Christian virtues like patience, truthfulness, mercy, integrity, wisdom, compassion, and love. Note the active nature of this instruction: “set your hearts on above” (emphasis mine). This requires intentionality and purpose. Smith says that habits are what set our hearts on things above. That is, our habits of life mold the desires of our hearts so that they become hearts like His.
Application: What is a practical way you can set your heart on things above, thus cultivating godly desires, today?
Prayer: Lord, keep me grounded in my new life in Christ. By your Spirit, lead me to set my heart on things above, that I may reflect you in all I say and do. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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