Set Your Mind
READ
I don't know about you, but setting my mind on things above can feel almost impossible with the daily distractions that life brings. Even when I wake up and have time with the Lord, it doesn't take long before the day fills up and my mind drifts from "things above" to daily tasks and distractions.
Take a moment to read Colossians 3:1-2:
"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."
REFLECT
Have you ever met someone who, despite their circumstances—perhaps a health crisis or another form of prolonged suffering—was still able to exude joy and trust in God? I have, and to be honest, the first time I met someone like that, it was a bit disorienting. Life was not going their way, and yet they remained unshaken because their hearts and minds were set on things above. They understood that one of the blessings of life with Christ is that no matter what this world throws at them, they stand on a firm foundation of His love.
If I'm honest, I have a harder time with that.
I tend to be easily distracted by the busyness of the day, let alone when hard things come my way. But I love today's passage because it’s an invitation, not a measuring stick. Let's reread the passage, and rather than viewing it as a rubric for failure or success at being a "good" Christian, read it as an invitation to a life that embodies your faith.
Eugene Peterson's The Message, Colossians 3:1-2:
"So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective."
Eugene Peterson's summary of this passage really hits the nail on the head. Many of us are shuffling through our days, absorbed by the things right in front of us, but there is a bigger story being written beyond what we can see. His encouragement is to look up to Christ, to His redemptive story where the most important things are at play, and set our minds on that instead.
Whereas some might use this passage as a way to whip believers into shape, Paul is encouraging believers to simply allow their hearts and minds to be shaped by the faith they profess. And today, the invitation is the same for you.
The question we're asking is not: "Am I being a good Christian and meeting this standard?"
The question is: "Am I becoming a person whose faith is being strengthened by what my heart and mind are set on? Or am I becoming a person who is easily distracted by whatever is set before me?"
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
What would it look like to set your heart and mind on things above today?
Take a moment to be honest with yourself. Who are you becoming? A person distracted by whatever your day brings, or a person whose faith is strengthened by keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God's presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
God, thank You for inviting us to a way of life that ultimately leads us to joy and rest in You. God, would You help me set my heart and mind on what matters most today. Help me fix my eyes on You and the greater story You're writing. Help me, throughout my day, to remember Your goodness and the redemptive work You're doing all around me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Port City writer Brittany Salmon wrote today’s devotional.