Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Our culture sometimes tries to wrongly define spirituality or Christianity as signs and wonders, secret Bible codes, new revelations, or heightened emotional experiences. However, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul lays out a clear road map that tells us what true Christianity looks like: a heavenly focus. The Colossians were plagued with asceticism, legalism, and were attempting to add the teachings of men to their Christianity (2:20-22). The church was influenced by a self-made religion of “touch not, taste not, handle not” that included extreme fasting and self-inflicted pain to gain God’s approval. Paul says these tactics have no real value against sin and the flesh because they don’t transform the heart. A spiritual battle can’t be fought with physical weapons. Only a mind that is turned from self, set on Christ, and captivated by His beauty and glory will lead to true spiritual growth.
Paul encourages the believers to “keep seeking the things above.” This seeking is not a one time act, or an occasional act, but a continual and characteristic act of the Christian life. Heaven should be the heart beat of the believer because we have been “raised with Christ.” The believer is called to keep on thinking and meditating on Christ. Jesus should be our ambition, first in all we do, and in everything we do. Why? Because any other focus or object of our faith is worthless. Contrasted with “the things of the earth,” Christ and His glory should be our aim and desire.
Pastor George then laid out four reasons to maintain a heavenly focus:
These are the motivations, focus, and hope of the believer. Even in our spiritual disciplines, we read, pray, worship, and fellowship in order to set our focus and minds on Christ. Christ is our life and we look forward to the day when we will be revealed with Him in glory and our eternal occupation will be praising and recognizing Him as Lord. Where is your focus? What are you most passionate about? The only true path to spirituality is by getting your mind off of yourself and on to Christ.
