Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
(Colossians 3:1-3 NLT)
I have many favorite images from Full of Eyes (fullofeyes.com) but the one pictured with this blog is my new favorite. It depicts a believer as an inverted tree, rooted in Christ in heaven, growing and bearing Kingdom fruit in the earth below.
I’ve been in church world since I was 8 years old, and I’ve heard repeated more than a few times the cliché: “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.” That cliché is born of negative personal experiences and not from the teaching of Scripture. If you’ve been in church for longer than five minutes you’ve no doubt met an odd, hyper-spiritual person or two who uses “spirituality” to manipulate circumstances, dominate conversations, and escape their personal responsibilities. These folks are a chore to be around, and those practices are the opposite of being truly heavenly-minded.
When believers are mindful of who we are – chosen saints seated with Christ in heavenly realms by God’s grace (see Eph. 2:6-7) - and conscious of what is to come – final judgment and eternal consequences (see 1 Cor. 3:12-15), we live differently. We see life on this broken planet for what it is - temporary. Following the teachings of Jesus, we choose to lay down this temporary life and leverage it for His eternal life and glory (see Matt. 16:24-27). We do this by not only taking responsibility for our own lives but by loving and serving others so that they too may experience the practical love of Jesus and hopefully come to enjoy the new life He has won for them. C.S. Lewis said it like this:
“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next [world].”
We cannot bear any lasting fruit without vital connection to Jesus (see John 15:4). We must be firmly rooted in Him drawing our life from Him every day (see Col. 2:6-7).
So how can we go about becoming more heavenly minded with our every root tightly clinging to Christ?
Prayer - Ask the Lord to stir your heart and mind more and more toward Himself.
Study – Open your Bible and read the Spirit-inspired books and letters there in context.
Worship – Recognize God for who He is, expressing gratitude and adoration to Him accordingly.
Give – Serve your family, church, and neighbors with the resources and talents the Lord has given you.
“You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit …”
(John 15:16a NLT)
