by Dennis Stackhouse<\/p>\n
In writing the church at Colossae, Paul said this in Colossians 3:1:\u00a0“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”<\/em>\u00a0 We know the apostle is addressing baptized believers, as these people had been raised up with Christ, according to Colossians 2:12.\u00a0 With that in mind, all Christian people should recognize this teaching as an encouragement to not allow worldly matters to interfere with a proper mindset, a heavenly mindset.\u00a0 After all, Paul does instruct us to\u00a0“keep seeking the things above.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>In other words, this is something the Christian never stops doing; it is a continual exercise, and we are to keep seeking the things above as long we dwell in these earthly bodies.\u00a0 This is the case because that’s where Christ is and we want to be where He is.\u00a0 Our goal should be that of reaching heaven.<\/p>\n Colossians 3:2 continues this thought:\u00a0“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”<\/em>\u00a0 If we can continually fill our minds with\u00a0“the things above,”<\/em> such as God and Christ in their heavenly home, the heavenly preparations being made for Christians (John 14:2-3), and our expectation to imitate God and Christ (Ephesians 5:1; I Corinthians 11:1), then our lives will be more reflective of what God wants them to be.\u00a0 So it is entirely appropriate for Christian men and women to remove their focus from worldly things and concentrate their thoughts on heaven; in fact, the Scriptures strongly encourage us to do so.\u00a0 Let’s consider a few more examples of this.<\/p>\n In Matthew 6:19-21, our Lord said:\u00a0“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.\u00a0 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”<\/em>\u00a0 If worldly treasures have been replaced by heavenly treasures, the Christian truly is seeking the things above.\u00a0 Jesus plainly said that our heart will follow after our treasure, so if that treasure is in heaven, we have our priorities in order.\u00a0 Paul indicated that his desire was\u00a0“to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better,”<\/em>\u00a0in Philippians 1:23.\u00a0 Paul was undeniably focusing on the heavenly home.\u00a0 In Philippians 3:14 he also said:\u00a0“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”<\/em>\u00a0 If this is not a focus on heaven, I’m not sure what it is.\u00a0 Then in Philippians 3:20, we learn that the Christian’s citizenship is in heaven.\u00a0 Doesn’t it make sense to focus on the “country” where our citizenship is?<\/p>\n The apostle wrote in II Timothy 4:8:\u00a0“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”<\/em>\u00a0 Could there be any better reason to embrace the heavenly mindset?\u00a0 If we really did make heaven our priority, perhaps the things of this world would not be so troublesome to us; perhaps we would eliminate a great deal of frustration and anxiousness.\u00a0 Make sure that heaven is your goal.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dennis Stackhouse In writing the church at Colossae, Paul said this in Colossians 3:1:\u00a0“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”\u00a0 We know the apostle is addressing baptized believers, as these people had been raised up with Christ,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[634],"class_list":["post-46577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-attitude"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38480,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/set-your-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":46577,"position":0},"title":"Set Your Mind","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer How Christians think and what they think about are critical in determining how they live. Once we decide that we will live for Jesus and sanctify Him as Lord in our hearts (I Peter 3:15), we are making a priority out of thinking about things that are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/focus-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12717,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-colossians-32-teach-that-it-is-a-sin-to-think-about-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":46577,"position":1},"title":"Does Colossians 3:2 teach that it is a sin to think about sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to think about sin? I read your article about this subject but what about Colossians 3:2? Does it say that it's a sin to think about sin? Answer: \"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55578,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/circumcision-proves-the-necessity-of-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":46577,"position":2},"title":"Circumcision Proves the Necessity of Baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The apostle Paul appeals to the \"saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse\" to discharge the philosophies of men and embrace Him who has the preeminence in all things (Colossians 1). The church at Colosse had been troubled by the teachings of men that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42319,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-be-truly-happy\/","url_meta":{"origin":46577,"position":3},"title":"How to be Truly Happy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew Allen \"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.\" Abraham Lincoln Are you happy? Truly happy? Have you found the joy that is found in Christian living? Christianity contains the keys to true happiness during our earthly existence. It is only in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/happiness-184x300.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29351,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/seeking-the-things-above\/","url_meta":{"origin":46577,"position":4},"title":"Seeking the Things Above","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 3:1-4 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So often we focus on winning souls for Christ that we lose sight that conversion is not the goal but the first step in a life long process of change - Colossians 2:6-7 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To stay with Christ, to live with him, is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86143,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/at-the-crossroads\/","url_meta":{"origin":46577,"position":5},"title":"At the Crossroads","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Scripture warns against those who \"walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.\" Paul writes, \"Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things\" (Philippians 3:18-19). Elsewhere Paul writes that those who cause divisions \"do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46577\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}