Without doubt, the apostles lived a level of closeness with the Lord that most of us can only aspire to. Having lived with Jesus, witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, then participating in the events of Pentecost, certainly provided memorable inspiration and intimacy we can only imagine. Even though Paul came to believe in Christ later than the other apostles, he repeatedly exhorts all believers to pursue an intentional and focused relationship with the glorified Christ.
One such exhortation comes in Colossians 3:1-2, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For many, this is practically difficult because of the busyness and demands of life. Daily schedules can become so full with what we consider the necessities of life, that our thoughts are consumed with earthly pursuits. In and of themselves, many of our daily demands are not wrong, and they require our best attention so we can honour the Lord. I don’t think Paul was speaking down to busy Christians when he gave this instruction. Rather, I am convinced Paul was offering a practical means by which busy believers can enrich their walk of faith.
Paul first reminds us that resulting from salvation, because of spiritually being raised with Christ to a new and regenerated life, Christians will desire to have their default thoughts redirected to Jesus. Throughout the engaging events of each day, believers will desire to have their instinctive thoughts gravitate towards Christ.
Next, notice that to seek the things that are above is synonymous with set your minds on things that are above. It is Christ’s present place of residence that draws our attention to His glorious reign, and the hope of His soon victorious return to catch up His church. Growing a picture of Christ seated at the right hand of God builds the clarity of who Jesus is, of His victorious resurrection, and His authoritative governance over His Kingdom.
Paul again reminds us in Ephesians 1:20-21, that God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. The supremacy of Jesus’ exulted reign and soon return is worthy of us training our thoughts and planning our routines for worship in its various momentary forms.
There are many ways we can do this, and in some cases, technology can assist by using reminders on our devices. Developing routine visual and audible triggers, possibly landmarks for specific prayer subjects in your travels, is important. Scheduling brief spiritual moments is critical, such as sticky notes in obvious places, Scripture attached to inescapable locations. Listening to worship or biblical teaching while travelling. Committed, regular participation in your local church activities. Daily reading Scripture, plus biblically worthy books or notes, even while waiting for appointments. Anything that gets our attention to pause momentarily with thought and prayer to the glorified Jesus.
Developing the habit of brief prayer following conversations with people is an excellent discipline. This could be as short as a 2 second acknowledgement of Christ’s providence, a word of thanks, or a request. In that moment, our thoughts are locked on Christ. This is Paul’s point, in these numerous moments of each day, set your minds on things that are above.
