June 11 - 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.”
Paul has written a lot about the hazards of allowing earthly legalism to define our Christian lives. I don’t think he can write about it enough! This is something that is so natural for us to do. I laugh about how my mother taught me guilt at an early age so as to keep me under her control and that I managed to carry that with me for the rest of my life. I’m not alone. The reason that these rules and regulations carry so much weight in our lives is that we are fashioned to be controlled by them and feel guilty when we try to break away from them. I believe that there are times the Ten Commandments pale in comparison to the strictures we allow to be placed on our lives. Not only that, because we are so comfortable with all of this, we turn around and place the same expectations on the people around us, expressing sincere disappointment when they don’t measure up to those expectations.
Paul moves on, though, from the hazards of living according to the world’s standards to things above.
You see, our sins died with Christ … we are raised with Christ … He is seated at the right hand of God … THIS is where our minds and hearts should be focused. Away with the guilt, away with the expectations, away with the fear. Focus all of that attention on the throne!
When Jesus said, in Luke 10:27 “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” He brought everything into that focus. This is the only interpretation of the Law that we need to concern ourselves with. This is where our hearts and minds need to be. Guilt, expectations and fear fall away when we move into the throneroom. From that vantage point everything changes.
“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.”
Paul has written a lot about the hazards of allowing earthly legalism to define our Christian lives. I don’t think he can write about it enough! This is something that is so natural for us to do. I laugh about how my mother taught me guilt at an early age so as to keep me under her control and that I managed to carry that with me for the rest of my life. I’m not alone. The reason that these rules and regulations carry so much weight in our lives is that we are fashioned to be controlled by them and feel guilty when we try to break away from them. I believe that there are times the Ten Commandments pale in comparison to the strictures we allow to be placed on our lives. Not only that, because we are so comfortable with all of this, we turn around and place the same expectations on the people around us, expressing sincere disappointment when they don’t measure up to those expectations.
Paul moves on, though, from the hazards of living according to the world’s standards to things above.
You see, our sins died with Christ … we are raised with Christ … He is seated at the right hand of God … THIS is where our minds and hearts should be focused. Away with the guilt, away with the expectations, away with the fear. Focus all of that attention on the throne!
When Jesus said, in Luke 10:27 “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” He brought everything into that focus. This is the only interpretation of the Law that we need to concern ourselves with. This is where our hearts and minds need to be. Guilt, expectations and fear fall away when we move into the throneroom. From that vantage point everything changes.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment