Heavenly Minded

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. (Colossians 3:2 NLT)

Everything on earth has an expiration date. Your brand new car can be out modeled in few months, your computer is good as junk in few years, your cell phone is a shameful piece of electronics in a year or two that you feel pitiful when you use it in public, your no-wrinkle ironed-out jeans becomes out of style when these worn out, lot-of-holes jeans became the fashion – and so much more. All because of the marketing tricks and convincing sales pitches that you wanted to be up-to-date and become crazy about so many things in life, even when it is not necessary.

We are so caught up with material things, even as Christians, that we give much priority on them. There are so many things in life that takes a large chunk of our time, effort, and energy – that we feel left out in the woods if we do not have them. And many times even draw us away from our fellowship with God. In this passage, Paul – who was in prison in Rome, was writing to the Christians in Colosse to consider their new life in Christ, and not to live as carnal believers – that is, not going back to their old lifestyle.

We as modern Christians ought to live as new persons in Christ. We need to leave behind our past life which is hell-bound, and more forward with our heaven-bound life in Christ. We need to “set” our hearts and minds on heavenly matters, and not on earthly matters which last only for a while. The love of money, worship of worldly things, desire for illicit relationships, impurity, lust, evil desires, greediness, anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, lying, and dirty language - need to be taken out of our system. They have no part in our new life in Christ.

We need to replace them with love, peace, patience, hope, long suffering, gentleness, humility, hospitality, kindness, and compassion. Our life is just a mist (James 4:14) and we need to spend our energy and time on heavenly things. Let us not endanger our eternal rewards in heaven, and possibly even lose our fellowship with God by living in our past.