Paul begins Colossians 3 by admonishing us this way: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (verses 1-2). The Message puts it this way: Pursue the things over which Christ presides…See things from his perspective (The Message, Colossians 3:1-2). Paul makes a contrast here between a life that is focused on Christ and the life that is focused on everything else.
Because of our relationship and identification with Christ in his death and resurrection, we are to embrace for ourselves a life that reflects the very life of Christ himself. This means that the character of Christ is my character. The virtues of Christ are my virtues. His priorities are my priorities.
A resurrected life means that I am more concerned with Christ and what he desires then I am with those things that occupied my life before I knew him. He is my pursuit.
Whereas so many of us find our fulfillment in things related to this life, they are temporary pleasures that will quickly lose their value. But all that is related to Christ has eternal value. This, to me, is where all of us struggle most often. We have difficulty distinguishing between the temporary and the eternal. By nature, we want instant gratification in life. We fail to understand the incredible significance and eternal value of pursuing Christ and making his priorities ours. We get lost in the meaningless, the insignificant, things that do not truly represent Christ or exemplify our relationship with him.
The resurrected life, in its simplest terms, is a pursuit of Christ.
Monday, April 13, 2009
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