One-minute read.
Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2
Practically pursuing Jesus means thinking about heavenly things against the background of eternity. Realizing life on Earth lasts but a moment and our eternal lives much longer helps us keep perspective about today’s problems. Paul’s not saying don’t engage in things of this world but keep them in their proper place. How much money you make, what kind of car you drive, and where you live won’t matter 100 years from now. But where you spend eternity will.
“I just have to keep telling myself, the kids won’t remember we had to choose which bills we pay; they’ll just remember the love we gave them.” Talking to a friend years ago, with two young kids and an unemployed husband, she focused on things above rather than this world. Now, twenty years later, her kids don’t even know they struggled financially those few months, but they remember the love and remain a close-knit family centered around Jesus.
Keeping our minds on the things above will help us persevere through our struggles. Remembering this too shall pass helps us keep going when hope seems lost. Knowing that our treasure waits in heaven, not here on Earth, gives us something to anticipate. We’ll spend much more time praising Jesus in heaven than on Earth. Today’s problems will pass, but our heavenly home never will.
Journaling Questions:
What Earthly problems keep you from focusing on things above?
How does knowing today’s problems will pass help you persevere?
How can you keep your mind focused on the things above?
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for giving us an eternal home that will last far longer than our lives on Earth. Please help us keep a proper perspective of our current struggles as we think about things above instead of this world. Let us respond well to our struggles, knowing they will one day end, and we will spend eternity with You.
IJNIP. Amen
