Colossians 3:1 says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."
How does one "set his heart on things above"? It is a constant battle. I feel like I win it in minute increments and I lose it in a landslide. One can either throw in the towel or persevere with tenacity. Since I believe throwing in the towel is actually proof that we are not in Christ, tenacity is the only option. It's the tiring and harder option, but the only option for the Christ-follower.
- I am required to tell my emotions what to feel. This is what "set" means. I am told to choose to place my whole being, my heart, in heaven. At first glance this appears ridiculous, doesn't it? "I can't help how I feel about something," we say, but Paul is telling us we not only CAN help how we feel, we MUST. Here are some common excuses that I make regarding my emotions:
- That person makes me feel intimidated and inferior.
- That person has hurt me so much that he makes me feel angry.
- That financial situation makes me feel hopeless.
- The pain I'm feeling must control my choices.
- That pattern of sin makes me feel like avoiding God today.
- That person's absence from my life means I can't go on.
- To choose to set my heart on things above simply means I live right now focusing on the truth. I do not let life tell me what to feel, at least not for very long. Working through the above examples armed with the truth of Scripture and the fact that my eternity is sealed in Christ in heaven is an amazing exercise!
- No matter how I see myself, the truth is that God has made me "fearfully" and "wonderfully" in His image. To believe otherwise is to call God himself a liar and to pridefully exult my "feelings" over what He has said (truth). I remember a moment in college when this truth began to grip me.
- No matter who has hurt me or how much it hurts, I have never been forced to choose anger as a response. I often quickly choose anger, but that's my own sin, and not the other person's fault. The example we all most identify with here is probably our spouses. Their choices can drive us crazy if we let them, and they can certainly seem to "make" us angry. Setting my heart on things above means I quickly see how much God has forgiven me, how much patience He extends to me and how many times I fall short of His holy expectations (glory). But he waits expectantly at the gate and runs to me with His forgiving arms outstretched. He took care of His appropriate wrath at the cross. He also took care of my sinful anger at the cross.
- Having your heart in heaven when it comes to finances is a large task. Do you feel hopeless? I truly believe that in the US today there exist very few people who are truly needy when it comes to finances, including you (and me). Most of our financial despair comes from two major sins: I want a lot (out to eat, traveling, etc.) and feel entitled, so whether or not I have the cash, I am going to do what I want to do; and I expect others to come to the rescue (because it's so blessed for them to give). You will always experience despair--and so will I--when I want a lot and hope others come through with gifts. What if I change my expectations and want nothing material and look for opportunities to give instead of receive? This is exactly what Paul was talking about when he said that he could do everything through Christ who gives him strength. He had learned to live with nothing (and to live that way contentedly). When I want more stuff I'm always disappointed. Always. Heart in heaven? teach yourself to pursue righteousness and God himself: godliness with contentment is great gain!
- I have never met anyone whose pain did not, at least initially, affect their feelings. God made us emotional and uses our emotions just like he uses our minds (incidentally, read Colossians 3:1-3!). So we do not DENY our feelings, we re-train them. I truly believe this is why some of our older and most mature saints long for heaven so much. How do we live in the midst of a broken relationship that we are required to somehow try to mend? With our will in God's Word (dwell in peace as much as it is up to you), and our heart in heaven (Christ loves the person with whom I struggle and one day, when we are with him, he will perfectly be our peace!). Quickly confront your feelings with a longing and a love for heaven and Christ's presence which is both already and not yet.
- I'm not going to touch much on the "avoiding God" idea. I think we all know how ridiculous that is. Yet we do it! Re-train your heart and remind yourself of the truth! Remind me to forsake and cast off that sin that besets us and enjoy the amazing reality of constant fellowship with the Almighty!
- Every time I think of death I also think of Jesus weeping because of Lazarus' death in John 10. Why weep? He knew that he was going to call Lazarus out of there and go to dinner with him that night. I believe he was weeping because (as Cornelius Plantinga says), death is "not the way it's supposed to be." My wife and I have been learning that life in a sinful world is simply a series of not-so-well-timed "goodbyes." If my heart stayed in this world all those goodbyes would crush me. But (whether by death or by moves) I do not grieve like those people who have no hope (at least not once I finally come to my senses). Where this life is a series of goodbyes, heaven is a (to quote Billy Sprague) "long Hello." The bigger thing to lament is my absence from Christ. He's here for real, but not in the same way I am going to enjoy Him forever in heaven. Think of that! To be with Christ forever without a break in fellowship and to constantly be doing his will gladly! Wow! (And that's the same thing he calls us to do now in the Lord's prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.")
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