Head in the Clouds

Many of us have heard the term, “He’s so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good.” Obviously this phrase is aimed at those people who are disconnected from their communities, using the guise of religion to excuse their lack of action. In reality, the culprits have the wrong view of heaven and are disobedient to God’s word.

Really, if one has a right view of eternity and heaven, it is impossible to be so heavenly-minded as to remove their usefulness upon this earth. In Colossians 3:1, Paul commands those who have been raised with Christ to seek things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God rather than on the things of earth.

He is not instructing a strict separation from their humanity. Here in chapter 3, Paul explains what is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth, and lies.

The new man we are to put on may surprise some. To be heavenly minded is not to put on our wings and halos and snub our noses at those “worldly people.” Rather, look at the list of “heavenly-minded” things: compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, forbearance, Christ-like forgiveness, love, unity, and being filled with God’s word to help and correct one another–all highly relational qualities.

To be heavenly-minded is to be of eternal earthly good. See, when we care about others and we display the love and message of Christ to others, we are putting their eternal interests ahead of our own physical lives. When we die, certain aspects of our lives will die (prestige, occupation, money, other possessions, etc.), but others will live on. Any honor or praise we garnered for ourselves will be meaningless as we stand before the throne of God. But when we bear witness to Christ through our words and actions, we have an opportunity to effect someone eternally, long after we die.

When we choose to be heavenly-minded, we are choosing to forsake those things that will die when we die in order to live for those things that cannot die.

Applications

What do we do with this? How do we set our minds on things from above? First, we need to recognize that we are always setting our minds on something. Take an inventory throughout the day of where your mind is seated. What takes up the most of your thoughts? Take those thoughts captive. Examine them. See if they are things that help you life up the name of Jesus to those around you.

Second, we all make plans of sorts. Plans can be formally made in the form of a day planner or a 5- or 10-year plan. Sometimes, we just have a checklist of things we want to finish before the day is out. Making plans is a valuable way to be a good steward of the time and resources God has given us. But our plans are not immune to falling for “earthly things.” Look over your plans. List out your goals. Then test them for their eternal value. Do you want things that would define you as a faithful witness to Christ after you die?

To the parents reading this, my mom and dad taught me to do this for kids as well. All parents make goals or plans for their children. Then they teach their kids to value things that will help them reach those goals. What is it that we want for our kids? Are we more concerned with them gaining the whole world while ignoring their souls?

The starting point for thinking in a heavenly-minded way is always by studying God’s word. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word…I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9 & 11). God has given us his word for our growing in the knowledge of him and what he wants for the world.

As you read scripture, reevaluate your goals and aspirations in light of what you learn. Find out what God is passionate about. Are you passionate about those things? The only way to learn them is by reading and meditating on his word.

Finally, Paul bases this whole passage–in addition to the rest of Colossians–upon our identity in Christ. Remember these three things from verses 1-4. First, we have been raised with Christ to live for him rather than for ourselves. Then, the Lord we follow is at the right hand of the Father, in the seat of all power. Thirdly, our hope is in his future appearing, where we will be revealed with him in glory. Death and oppression are two of the greatest fears for people. But our identity is hidden in the one who raised from the dead and has all power, never abusing it. This gives us the freedom to set our minds on the things above without fear of what we will lose on this earth.

Today, set your mind on the Risen Almighty, in whom all hope is found.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” -Jim Elliot

What’s in a Uniform?

As an avid soccer fan, I have understandably been glued to the action in Brazil for the last month or so. Many of you know that there is a tradition in “football” for competitors to exchange jerseys at the completion of a match. This will often happen between players who competed hard specifically against one another the pitch for the 90 minutes. This gesture is a sign of respect for the opponents. It is often a great honor to see a world class player offer to trade his shirt with one of a young up-and-coming star. The uniform represents a certain quality or brand of play.

Many teams and coaches talk about a change of identity or character that comes with putting on their uniform. To stick with soccer, during the last month, many people who could care less about the sport for the better part of four years saw the 23 American players as their representatives to the world for this short period of time. Whether it’s a team or a place of employment. The uniform represents a certain identity or stigma.

The senior pastor of the church in which I serve recently became a chaplain in the Army National Guard. Is there a realm in which donning a uniform comes with any more responsibility, symbolism, or expectation than a military uniform? When one puts on a uniform, he/she is expected to live up to the reputation of the organization he/she represents, serves, plays for, fights for, or leads.

In my personal study of the book of Colossians, I was reminded of this metaphor of the uniform. In chapter three Paul calls the church at Colossae to “put on” the new self they have in Christ. They are to live and represent the new identity that comes from having been raised with Christ. There is much to be said about the context, but to keep it brief, we must remember that Paul’s message to the Colossians has been centered around their spiritual identity and how it has been affected in Christ. “And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (1:21-22 ESV). Paul then brings their new identity in Christ to bear in their personal lives.

One’s spiritual identity is directly related to their everyday life, according to Paul. In chapter two he uses the metaphor of a daily walk to explain that since our sins are nailed upon the cross, we have a new identity to live in. We should be deeply rooted in Christ’s work of cancelling the debt of our sin, freeing us to live in him. In chapter three, he uses the metaphor of “putting to death” our former sinful way of life and “putting on” the life of our new calling.

Paul emphasizes in 3:12 that we have been called by God, chosen and loved. Since we have been raised with Christ, we must be focused on the things above rather than the things of earth (3:1-3). The preceding list of sinful behaviors to put off are all actions motivated by self-gratification, personal gain, earthly wealth, competition, and reputation. These are the things of earth. But the things above are all focused on others because of Christ. Here’s the list

• Compassionate hearts
• Kindness
• Humility
• Meekness
• Patience
• Bearing with one another
• Forgiving ones who wrong us. Why? The Lord has forgiven you.
• Love. Why? It binds us together in harmony…allowing God’s peace to rule in us.
• Be thankful
• Let the Word of the Lord dwell in you richly. Why? For teaching and admonishing.
• Everything you say or do should be in the name of the Lord Jesus with thanks to God the father through him

The resurrected life means we have joined a new team, a new army, a new organization: the heavenly kingdom ruled by the risen Christ. Though, my analogy of the uniform maybe anachronistic, I think it properly fits Paul’s theme. When we pull on our new uniform, we are expected to take off the old one. We have been transferred to a new kingdom. Our expectations are different because our goals are different.

Our calling is to the things that are eternal. The late Howard Hendricks used to say something along the lines of this: “God will only take only two things out of this world; his Word and people. So let’s spend our time investing God’s Word in people.” To be about the things of God is to be about both sharing God’s message of salvation and reconciliation with people and embodying it through humble love and forgiveness.

Paul wanted the Colossians and subsequent readers to put on the uniform that comes with our calling. I get the sense that Paul is implying that we already wear the uniform if we call ourselves a Christian. Therefore, the command is to live a life becoming of that uniform. Paul’s description of that life is very telling. Each of the things named takes the attention off of ourselves and selfish motives for life, placing the emphasis on humility and love leading to unity and peace as the body of Christ that is firmly rooted in the message of God’s Word. These are the “things above.”

This brings me to my conclusion and application from the text. The name on our Jersey is Christ, the Risen King. Our lives are no longer about advancing our own happiness. Instead, we know we find our satisfaction in Christ alone. The world tells us that we find meaning in how we feel about ourselves. We are tempted even as Christians to think that if we do all the Christian things (whatever those are), we will find true happiness and satisfaction. If only we would be faithful Christians, then life would go well for us.

But that is not the goal of King Jesus. His goal is to bring glory to his holy name through the person and reconciling work of Jesus (1:19-20). In that new identity, we can live lives that are truly fulfilling. We still wait to ultimately stand with him in glory (3:4), but we are already wearing his uniform and are expected to live accordingly. We are to live with others in mind above ourselves because of what the gospel motivates us to do.

How does the gospel work as our motivation? We were once alienated from God with no hope to be reconciled to him. We had sinned against an infinitely holy God, deserving infinitely holy judgment. But in his gracious, surprising love he chose to take that punishment on his shoulders in the form of his son dying on the cross. This is the beauty of the gospel. We could do nothing to rectify our plight. But God made a way back through faith in his son.

Once I realize that I cannot boast in my own salvation (Eph. 2:8-10), I realize that I have absolutely no excuse not to show the same patience and love to others around me who wrong me. My uniform says that I will live for Christ and promote his unity to fellow believers. How foolish it would be to live differently. When I indulge my selfish desires, I am openly showing the world that I prefer the jersey I used to wear, which leads to death.

I encourage you to join me in a practice. List out the 20 people you interact with the most. Whether you like them or not. Whether they are believers or not. Then begin to evaluate your interactions with them. Do you live for their best interests or your own? How do your actions affect them? Would you be described by them as loving, seeking peace through patience and forgiveness? If not, take some time to repent of that sin to God and to those people. What’s that you say? That would hurt your pride? They have sinned too greatly against you? The fact that you are wearing Jesus’ uniform is proof positive that all things (reconciliation between God and sinners and people with one another) are possible when God is present…Don’t use the truth that all things are possible with God, wrongly, to prove that you can “really be somebody” or “can do whatever you put your mind to.” That is just not the Bible’s teaching. The Bible’s teaching is that when you say, “I just can’t,” regarding forgiveness between yourself and others, you are theologically mistaken about the power of Christ’s death and resurrection in your life.

Paul knew that the easiest way to identify and mortify pride in our lives is to be thankful (3:15). When we choose thankfulness, we are choosing to take the emphasis off of what we think we deserve and realize it is all a gift from God. When we look at it that way, we no longer see our enemies as people to retaliate against. Rather, we can see them with compassion as a potential recipient of the same grace and love we have been shown by our God in Christ.

Paul knew that none of us are perfect. But as God’s chosen ones, we are free to pursue a type of holy living where we wouldn’t feel guilty to say that all we do or say is in the name of Jesus our Lord (3:17). The basis for our Christian living is supposed to be God’s word anyway (3:16). When you look at how you interact with those 20 people, are you confident to say that all you do or say to them is worthy of the “name of the Lord?”

 

Grace and Peace,

 

Andrew