“1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.“ Colossians 3:1-2.
I have discovered over the years that whenever I’m asked to describe myself, what I say is more of what I desire to be or how I would like others to see me more than who I truly am. Perhaps, if you asked an independent person to describe who I am, they might say something completely different from how I would describe myself.
In these two verses, the apostle Paul is like the independent person describing the life of his readers. It didn’t matter how they would introduce or call themselves; who they truly are can be determined by what they seek after and what they have set their mind on.
When someone becomes a Christian, something fundamental changes in their lives. It is not like joining one more association; Jesus calls it new birth, and Paul calls it a new creation. This should come with new desires and affections. Paul identifies two things that must fundamentally change when someone becomes a Christian. The things they seek after and what they set their minds on.
We live in a world that encourages, no, lures us to pursue more wealth, fame and power. The selling point is that if we had more of these things, we would be happy and secure. But the history of man has conclusively made it clear that more of these things neither provide happiness nor the security we so desperately crave. Yet that has not stopped man from falling for the world’s deception.
Before becoming a Christian, we all believe this deception like the rest of the world. But Paul reminds his readers that the mark of a Christian is a mindset on things that are above and the pursuit of true riches, which can only be found where Christ is seated, at the right of God. The question is, do you see any difference between your pursuits before and after becoming a Christian? It is sad that for some Christians the pursuit of things on earth has rather increased since they came to faith.
May the Lord, through his Spirit, help us seek and set our minds on things above where true joy and riches reside.
