Home  > Short Studies  > Maintaining focus on the things above (Col 3:1-3)

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  — Colossians 3:1-3

It is one thing to maintain an appropriate focus on the things of God when we have purposely set aside an opportunity to do so, such as when we are in prayer or worshipping at church. It is a more difficult thing to maintain that focus in the midst of our life’s regular routine.  We may find ourselves in the spirit on the Lord’s Day in the church house, but challenges to our focus on God are there waiting for us as soon as we emerge, regardless of our discipline and intentions. From the instant we end prayer or meditation on His word, earthly priorities and preoccupations compete for our attention and impede our already limited capacity to lock in on the things above and dwell in them. How do we maintain an intimacy with God in the face of life’s many distractions?

The solution is found in our worldview and perspective. Because we Christians know that we are eternally secure in Jesus Christ, we are able to view this life and the things in it through the lens of our faith. We are blessed with the knowledge of the truth that the one, living God is sovereign over all things, including the temporal circumstances in which we become ensnared. It is that faith and knowledge that allows a believer to see all things as a means to God’s intended purpose. It can free the believer from worry and distraction so they can maintain focus on the things above. It allows them to align their priorities so that they are building up treasure in heaven, not on earth, and it empowers them to reflect to some small degree the perfection and goodness of God’s nature instead of the deficiency and sinfulness of man’s.

It is our perspective that determines our priorities and state of mind. Those to whom it has been given to know God’s grace through faith in Jesus—Christians blessed with a fullness of life and the promise of eternal fellowship with their Creator—have also been granted the gift of spiritual perspective. It helps them to filter out and see beyond that which is temporal and worldly to engage with that which is eternal and heavenly, the true things of God.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. — Proverbs 19:21

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Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)

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