THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE -- Tomorrow:
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col 3:1-4)
Devotion 15 of 25
" Set your affection on things above, not in things on the earth."
The very idea of refusing to set our affection upon the things of this world presumes there is nothing of lasting value in it. Whatever you obtain from it must at last be forfeited. Therefore, your heart cannot be set upon it.
Hold loosely what you possess in this world. Be a good steward of it, but reconcile yourself to the fact that you will have to let it go. Nothing from this world can make the transition into the world to come. The fashion of this world is "passing away." Therefore, you must "use the things of this world, as if not engrossed with them" (1 Cor 7:31, NIV).
Lest we miss the subtlety of becoming attached to the things of this world, remember the setting of this text. It is that we are not to allow any person to judge us in matters regarding food, drink, or days. We are to forbid any person to rob us of our reward by imposing upon us self-developed humility and religious bodily disciplines (2:16-23). All of those things are of this world, and cannot survive its demise. Therefore, they simply cannot be our focus.
After all is said and done, our religion must not have a worldly emphasis. The thrust of it cannot be worldly relationships and responsibilities, although they are all sanctified by our faith. However, faith will not allow a person to linger upon the consideration of things pertaining to this world. The longer our vision rests upon temporal things, the more vague heavenly things will appear. When we are focused on this world, there is no longer any place in our hearts and minds for the consideration of, and quest for, the things belonging to the heavenly order. This result cannot be avoided.
YOU ARE DEAD
"For ye are dead . . . "
The Spirit now begins to reason with us concerning this exhortation. Once we see the real circumstance of those who are in Christ Jesus, it will all make perfect sense. What we have been asked to do is perfectly reasonable namely, seek the things that are above, and set our affection upon them. Now the Spirit will focus upon our own circumstance in Christ Jesus. Once our real condition is perceived, we will be about seeking the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. When we truly comprehend what happened when we were joined to Christ, we will at once take up the occupation of developing a strong spiritual appetite, setting our affection on things above, and not on things on the earth.
FOR YOU . . .
" . . . For ye . . ." This is a word to all of the church. It is not addressed only to the leaders, or to women, or to men, or to the young, or the single, or the elderly. Men may develop extended messages for unique groups of believers, but the mass of Scripture is addressed ALL who are in Christ Jesus. No category of people within the body of Christ is exempt from this word. If the word seems too profound, then it is the business of the individual to come away from influences that cause it to be obscure. The mind of every believer is to be set on understanding what this means, for it will provide the incentive to obey the word of the Lord.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to use this world, but not abuse it – to hold it lightly in the full persuasion that I will at last forfeit everything associated with it.