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Dear Disciple,
Last time we looked at Colossians 3:1, which exhorts all who have been raised with Christ to “set you heart on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Please look over the last post for our brief exposition of the meaning of that verse. Today we look at the next verse, Colossians 3:2, which reads, “Set you minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.”
Well, if any two verses in the Bible could be taken to promote a disregard for physical bodily earthly life it would be these, but only if totally misunderstood. Yes, at first glance they suggest a kind of dismissal for real life, walking around with starry eyes gazing heavenward, too spiritual to care about things like, food and water, relationships, work, the earth, etc. But the rest of the chapter shows conclusively that this is not so.
Verse two underlines the same point as verse one, just using the negative. Instead of saying “seek” or “set your affections” on the things above, it says to “set your minds” on things above. And again, what are those things above? They are the things that have to do with the risen exalted Christ who is Lord and King over all. Speaking positively, this means that we are to focus our hearts, minds, and affections on Christ and the things that matter to Him – upon all those things consistent with his rule over our lives.
This is the same basic message as that of the theme of Colossians, which we find summarized in verses 2:6-7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Getting back to 3:2, what are the “things that are on the earth” that we are not to set our minds upon? This is made quite clear in verses five and following where we read we are to “put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” What are these things? Well, things like sexual impurity, anger, malice, lying, malice, and obscene talk. In other words, we are not to set our minds on things contrary to the person and will of the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ. These kinds of things have no place in His kingdom. These kinds of things have no place in the lives of those seeking to live under His lordship. So this is not a passage about avoiding the realities of human bodily life and real human relationships. To the contrary. It is a passage about bringing all aspects of that real human bodily life under the authority of the risen Lord Christ. So, under His Lordship, our relationships with others will change, as it says in verses 12 and 13: “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
So, fellow disciple, we have a challenging yet exciting task cut out for us, to bring all of life under the Lordship of the risen Christ, and to set the fullness of our hearts, minds and affections in the service of that task. May the Lord Jesus make it so, by His Spirit, sent to us. |
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