“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. When Christ, who is
our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4
I once knew a person who always seemed to be rooted,
grounded, positive and happy. It was not
because he had enjoyed a trouble-free life in the lap of luxury. On the contrary, he had been through storm
after storm, yet was an example of how to keep one’s head up and remain
faithful. It was not that he was a
perfect man; far from it. But he never
claimed to be more than he was and always seemed to re-route any praise given
him, to God.
Upon being asked how he did it, particularly in view of some
significantly painful life events, he gave an answer that made all of the sense
in the world but was no less amazing in that it involved the most basic of Christian
principles. He said, “I not only believe
in God, but I believe Him.” By that he
meant that it was easy to acknowledge God’s existence but through the course of
his life, he had come to have a significant level of faith in Him due to his
experience with God. He therefore made
every effort to surrender his own will in favor of God’s. This being the case, he went on to say, “God
has told us that this life is just a vapor and that the things we go through in
our day to day lives are not worthy to be compared with the things that will be
revealed and experienced in an eternity with Him. I believe that with my whole heart, and that long-term
view makes the limited trials of this life bearable and temporary.”
Beloved, this is the perspective that all children of God
should have. This is not to say that in
our human condition, we do not occasionally worry, fret, hurt, get anxious or
angry, but that we should always be brought back to who God is, what He has
promised and our faith in Him. Further,
we should conduct our lives as those who accept all He has told us as
established fact. Paul told the church at Colossae, and by extension all
believers, that we are to “set our minds on things above and not on earth…for
our life is hidden with God in Christ.”
How powerful in the Lord would we be if we truly embraced this directive? How effective would the church be?
Let us, as spiritual beings, diligently shift our
perspective to spiritual things. Our
burdens will surely be lightened and hearts made glad.
Pursuing a transformed
life,
Lee
1 comment:
Hello Pastor Lee. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. I am glad to stop by your profile on the blogger and the blog post. I am also blessed and feel privileged and honoured to get connected with you as well as know you and about you being an Eavangelist and ministering. I am also blessed and reminded of what Paul says by your mediation on Col 3:1-4 "A Change in Perspective"that is pursuing a transformed life. I love getting connected with the people of God around the globe irrespective of their denominational deviations (evangelicals). I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 40 yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great contrast where richest of rich and thepoorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. We would love to have young epople from your family and friends contact come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. I am sure they will have a life changing experience. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. God's richest blessings on you, your family and friends. My email id is dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede.
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