Colossians 3:1-11
T.
Robertson once said, “A person has to keep his feet upon the earth, but
his head in the heavens.” The stress of daily living has become a national
struggle. The busy schedules of the Palm Pilot generation overwhelm. On an average
day our schedules cram pack with meetings, phone calls, cell phone calls, soccer
or baseball practices for the kids, school, work, and fitness work outs with
personal trainers. The average person today struggles to keep his or her feet
grounded on earth.
The
greater challenge for a life out of balance is keeping our hearts focused toward
the heavens; that is, to keep the mind balanced by the spiritual things of Christ.
Is your life out of balance?
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Legendary
basketball coach John Wooden used to communicate to his players the importance
of maintaining their balance. “Stay in your stance,” he instructed
his players as he taught them to play defense. Of his great teams UCLA, he once
described a goal for each of his teams: balance. He said, “To me, balance,
next to love, is the most important word in our language.”
A
life of balance begins with a spiritual mind, or as Paul wrote to the Philippians,
“Have the mind of Christ” (Phil. 2:5-11).
Look
up: Keep Seeking the Things Above (Col. 3:1-2).
Paul
challenges the church to keep on seeking the “upward things.” The
resurrection of Christ supplies strength for every believer to seek the heavenly
things of God while here on earth. How important to understand Christ’s
position at the right hand of God. How important, too, to understand that Christ
does not sit as an idle bystander but as a participant in our lives, as an ever
pleading intercessor for each person (Romans 8:34).
The
words of Paul form a circle: Christ seeks us; we seek him; he seeks us; we seek
his upward things. The Holy Spirit moves and works in the center of this circle
of life.
Keep
on seeking Christ by keeping him foremost in your mind (Col. 3:1). Think on
him!
D.
A. Carson talks about the “constant battle of temptation at the level of
the thought life.” Life tips in the balance when our thoughts, priorities,
and schedules exclude God. Live on the earth, but bring heaven to earth by thinking
of Christ, his purpose, plan, and pattern for living. Look up!
Fill
up: Christ Fills Life When We Seek Him (Col. 3:3-4).
Paul
indicates that the old person has died because of Christ. Jesus fills the heart
of the believer with his goodness and his glory. Christ quietly changes and
fills the heart with the hidden life of God. Pascal said, “There is a God
shaped vacuum that only God can fill.”