Weekly Devotional - Seek The Things That Are Above

If then, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above not on things that are on earth. - Colossians 3:1-2

Chapter 3 of Colossians begins a section of encouragements, though not the type of encouragements you see on Hallmark cards. These are encouragements to live in a more Christlike way - an exhortation. Paul is showing us how to become better Christians. He has a big list. But don't miss the first thing he says, "IF THEN, you have been raised with Christ." If you are a Christian, then seek to do these things.

See, it's not that do's and don'ts are necessarily bad. It's that do's and don'ts aren't the starting point of the Christian Faith. We can't hold non-Christians to these standards we can't keep ourselves.

Because here's the thing, I've never once gone an entire day without falling short of those lists. This list includes things like anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk and lying. That's why Paul uses the word, "seek" in verse 1. It's a journey of persistence. One in which we, as Christ-followers, daily seek to put to death those things in the first list while simultaneously trying to emulate the things in the following list. Things like compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. A list which sounds an awful lot like characteristics of Christ.

So be persistent and take heart. This whole "seeking" thing is a process. We're going to mess up. They'll be days where we make more progress, and days where we make less. But it's not like God loves us any less because we haven't gotten very far yet.

Set your minds on Christ. He is the goal.