Focus on Heaven, Part 1
Friday, April 28
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. (Colossians 3:1)
As Paul begins this section, he focuses his teaching on practical Christian living, with the clear understanding that practical Christian living is built on the foundation of theological truth. We live the way we live because of our theology. Because we know that Jesus is really raised from the dead, then our identification with Him becomes real. It is only because we were raised with Christ that we can seek those things which are in heaven.
The truth that we have been raised to new life with Christ was first introduced in Colossians 2:12, where Paul used baptism to illustrate this spiritual reality. Now, seeing that we are raised with Christ, certain behavior is appropriate to us. The verb “set” is in the present imperative, which means a continuous, ongoing effort is required of us. We are to persistently set our sights and keep on setting.
If there’s anything I have learnt from recently is from the ants. This creature is very persistent. They’re very focused on one goal and they don’t stop until they get what they want, even if that means dying in the process! Paul tells us: The reason you should keep on setting your sights on the realities of heaven is because you have been raised to new life with Christ.
Because we have been raised with Christ, we should act just as Jesus did when He was resurrected. After His resurrection, Jesus left the tomb. That should be true of us too. We don’t live there anymore. We don’t have to live in our old life anymore. After His resurrection, Jesus spent His remaining time being with and ministering to His disciples. That should be true of us—we live our lives to be with and to serve one another. After His resurrection, Jesus lived in supernatural power with the ability to do impossible things. That should be true of us too—with the power and the enabling of the Holy Spirit. After His resurrection, Jesus set His sights on heaven, knowing He would ascend there. That should be true with us too—recognizing that our citizenship is in heaven.