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Difficult, easy choice
Most of us will have heard the phrase, ‘he or she is so heavenly minded they are no earthly good’, I’ve used it myself, and I can think of quite a few people it applies to. Unfortunately they reverse can also be true and we can be so earthly minded that we are no earthly use.
In our reading from Colossians today Paul is reminding us of what our attitude should be, and how it should affect our lives. In a nutshell Paul is saying, what God has been telling us for a while, worship is a whole life experience, a ‘life-style’.
Paul reminds us why, he reminds us of where we are at and how we got there. Then he reminds us of what we should do and tells us how. Finally he reminds us of what the final outcome will be.
In the beginning of verse 1 Paul reminds us that “We have been raised to new life with Christ” (1 Colossians 3:1 NLT), that’s a good thing to remind ourselves of on Easter Sunday. “We have been raised to new life with Christ”. At baptisms we often read from Romans 6, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. (Romans 6:4 NLT) We sometimes refer to the symbolism of burying and rising. But sometimes we can be guilty of just looking at it as symbolical. We think that by symbolically being buried with Christ, we will symbolically rise with Christ. But it has to be more than a symbolical thing; Christ’s death doesn’t replace our death it enacts it, it has to be a reality.
In Galatians 2 Paul wrote “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). In 2Corinthians 5 he wrote “ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2Corinthiians 5:17 NLT)
Paul consistently says to the believer, ‘You are not the same. What Christ has done for you has changed you, you are different now.’ And what Paul is saying here is, ‘this means you need to think differently, and by extension act differently’, because this places new responsibilities on us and part of that responsibility Pauls says is to “set your sights on the realities of heaven” (Colossians 3:1 NLT), ‘strive to become heavenly minded, think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth, keep on seeking the things of heaven.’
Paul is really repeating what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT) Again this is not a theoretical search; it is not something to just satisfy our need for knowledge, or our curiosity. So why is it so difficult for Christians to set their minds and affections on eternal things? That is to say, why is it so hard for God’s people to be "heavenly-minded" people while here on earth? We could
easily answer, ‘Because of our sinful nature’, and of course we
can’t discount that, Christians do have two sets of desires at war
against each another, the desires of the flesh and the desires of
the Spirit. Paul himself experienced this conflict, in Romans 7 he wrote, “I have discovered this principle of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” (Romans 7:21-23 NLT) And he goes on to write, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” And then he answers his own question, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:24-25 NLT) So we can’t discount or ignore our sinful nature, but our difficulty in focusing on eternal values cannot be completely blamed on our sinful nature. The fact is that God has placed Christians in a difficult situation, not an impossible one but a difficult one because we are asked to be citizens of two worlds. In John 17 Jesus prayed “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.” (John 17:14-18 NLT) Twice Jesus specifically says that God’s plan is not to take Christians out of this world, but rather, to send them into the world, and here-in lies the problem. I have never ceased to think that there is a sense in which those who down the centuries have chosen the monastic lifestyle have gone for the easy option. We are not called to take the easy option. We are called to be in the world and not of the world and if anyone here tells me that it’s easy I’ll have no hesitation in telling him or her that they are, either lying through their back teeth, or fooling themselves so completely that they can’t even see it. So the question is how can a Christian live in this world, with its responsibilities and temptations, without loving this world and being conformed to its values? Some of you have watched the DVD in which Christine Caine talks of the dangers of, rather than being in the world and not of it, which is what we are called to do, instead being of the world and not in it. Paul says set your minds on the things above. Think of the saying, ‘you are what you eat’ and transcribe it to ‘you are what you think’ and then dare to ask yourself, ‘what do you think? What are the three things you are most earnestly working for right now? What are the three things you love the most? What are the three things you think about the most?
In Matthew 6 we find Jesus saying these words, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. (Matthew 6:19-21 NLT) Our responsibility it to seek the things of heaven, think about the things of heaven, the things that please God, while still living in a world that does not please God, and that is not easy, but the rewards far exceed anything the world can offer. Paul writes, “And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory”. (Colossians 3:4 NLT) We are not called to live for Christ in search of a reward, but we are promised a reward when we live for Christ, and that is something we can look forward to. Being of the world and in the world, leads to death and hell. Being of the world and not in it leads to inner conflict and conflict and ultimately loss of joy and peace. Being out of the world and not of it leads to a distancing and a less than complete experience of the sustaining grace of God. Being in the world but not of it leads to fulfilment, joy, peace and ultimately an eternity with Christ. Which will you chose today? |
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Minister: Revd. Fidel Patron
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