17
Think On Things Above
Jon Burgess“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 NIV
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that our thought life is no longer governed by our society, but by our Savior. How so? We don't live in the same place anymore. We are in this world, but not of it. We aren't just aware of Christ, we are IN Christ. Our thoughts, our actions, our values, our decision making process flows directly from the One in whom we abide. We aren't just in the same orbit as Christ, we are hidden in Christ.
I'm taking today's verses both literally and spiritually as I think on things above. According to a recent article the moon isn't the earth's only cosmic companion. "The newly discovered asteroid 2016 HO3 orbits the sun in such a way that the space rock never strays too far from Earth, making making it a "quasi-satellite" of our planet, scientists say." Being the nerd that I am, I'm fascinated by the idea that this rock is literally sharing space with us. Then the wording at the end of the article really caught my attention especially in light of today's scripture: "The path of 2016 HO3 tends to twist and drift over time, but Earth's gravitational pull keeps the asteroid contained: It never comes closer than 9 million miles to our planet, and it never gets more than 24 million miles away, researchers said. "In effect, this small asteroid is caught in a little dance with Earth," Chodas said.This dance is not dangerous: 2016 HO3 poses no threat to the planet, NASA officials said." This dance is not dangerous for asteroid and earth, but it is dangerous for us and our God. We aren't supposed to be a satellite of Jesus simply in His orbit, we are supposed to be submerged in Him. We aren't suppose to be around Him, we are supposed to be IN HIM! It's supposed to be hard to tell us apart from Christ. I realized that my heart and therefore my mind gets set on lower and lesser things more then Christ when I try to simply orbit God rather then live in Him. How many of us, if we're honest would say that there are times when we move closer to God and then move away from Him? We consider this a normal ebb and flow of life right? Some times I'm 9 miles, sometimes 24 miles away from God, but at least I'm in the same orbit so that's ok right? Not only is this not ok, it's downright dangerous. Paul says "Christ, who is your life". Not, Christ who is a PART of my life sometimes more then others. No, this is a describing a life completely encompassed, immersed, and defined by life. We are to be breathing His life! It's Christ's oxygen that fills should fill our lungs! We are walking the surface of His will, held in place by the gravity of His Spirit! This is not a yo-yo Christianity. This is not a half-way, half-hearted faith we have been called to! We don't just live with Him, we live in Him! This really changes the way we think doesn't it?
Thank You Lord for the lessons from the heavens that remind me heaven is my home. I am a citizen of Your Kingdom, not the kingdoms of this world. If I find my thoughts too easily aligned with the thinking of this world, it's a sign I'm orbiting You rather then living in You!
