Colossians 3:1–3: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

June 28th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This would be better translated “since you were raised,” because the fact that we have been raised (because we died with Christ) is why we can now change the focus of our desires. We are no longer tied to sin but are free and alive in Jesus Christ. Being raised up with Jesus Christ ought to make a difference in the way we live and in our feelings about God. When Paul says “set your mind on things above,” it could also be translated “think on things above” or “take on the mind of heaven.” This is a crucial principle for winning the inner civil war that goes on within each and every one of us. It requires living with a focus. It means your head and your heart have to be moving in the same direction or else an inner conflict will erupt. If your heart doesn’t want the same things your head does, you will have an impossible time staying focused. Our heart, or desires, have to be personally directed toward the things of God, otherwise our lives will spin out of control.

How do we set our minds on things above? Paul says a few verses later, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16). He also says in Romans, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (12:2). We must keep God’s word active in our lives. We also need to stop and do a personal inventory or treasure hunt every once in a while. Asking ourselves questions like, “Where do I spend most of my time? Where do I put my money, energy, ambition?” Our thought life, our time, and our money have a way of identifying our real treasure.

A successful man named Robert became a believer after he graduated from college. Sadly, he has struggled with alcohol abuse ever since graduating, and has kept it his little secret, thinking no one else knows. We were recently talking over his failure to stay sober and he suddenly said, “The real problem is that I really miss my good old college days and life in the fraternity house. I realize that what I was doing then was very sinful, but I miss the friendships we had together around drinking. I hate to admit it, but I would love to get together with my old buddies and get rip-roaring drunk again.” It took him a while to see that even those words clearly displayed that his heart’s true affection was sin. Robert is romanticizing the past, and as long he refuses to let it go, to surrender that area of his life to the Lord as well, he will never be able to win his inner civil war. So what is it that we really do desire to do?

“LORD, we surrender afresh to You and Your Lordship over all areas of our life. Give us Your heart and mind today as we choose to walk with You.”