Colossians 3.1–4
1 If then you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth.
3 For you have died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is your life appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory.
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One of the primary truths that keeps my eyes fixed on Christ is the knowledge that I will, one day, be free from the baggage and weight of sin and suffering. One day this body of death will go to the grave, but my spirit, which had already been corrupted by sin, has now been made incorruptible through my inheritance and adoption, and it will rise to the presence of God. And then someday, when God has finished His work of saving people from every tongue, tribe, and nation, Christ will return to the earth to put all His enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15.25). On that day, my body will be raised, but it will be raised “neutral,” so to speak, because my sin has been put on the cross, the remaining flesh already lost its life, and my spirit has vacated the body (1 Corinthians 15.35-49). It’s a clean slate!
But what happens next is miraculous, and the great hope I look forward to. That “neutral” body is raised, and it is then reunited with my incorruptible spirit. And now (and forevermore!), I myself in my own flesh and blood will live my life to the fullest with no fear of sin or failure, because my adopted, incorruptible spirit is now in the driver’s seat of every decision, thought, and word that proceeds from my heart and through my mind and my mouth and actions. My physical body now has no fleshly habits or traps that are set to trip me up, because the old tenant stayed in the grave with his habits, having been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2.20).
If I find in myself desires which
nothing in this world can satisfy,
the only logical explanation
is that I was made
for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
In the meantime, I live in a bit of frustration: the “Already/Not Yet” of the Christian life. I already am adopted and have the incorruptible Spirit of God inside of me, but I am not yet freed from this body of death, and I am still weakened by the flesh. But I know my hope awaits me in the next life, where I will finally live truly satisfied with nothing hindering my joy or my will to glorify God in all that I do.
Read Again Out Loud and Make it into a Prayer:
Colossians 3.1–4
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Personalize and Read or Pray Aloud:
Job 19.23–27
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
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Pray Aloud:
Oh Lord, I do not deserve of glimpse of heaven, and I am unable with my works to redeem myself from sin, death, the devil, and hell. Nevertheless, you have given me Your Son, who is far more precious and dear than heaven, and much stronger than sin, death, the devil, and hell. For this I rejoice, praise, and thank You. Without cost and out of pure grace You have given me this boundless blessing in Your dear Son. Through Him You take sin, death, and hell from me, and do grant me all that belongs to Him. Amen.
-Martin Luther, 16th Century
Father, help __________ to glorify You in every way.
Reveal Your beauty in _________
as it is in Heaven.
Give _________ daily bread,
and thank You for Your undeserved mercy.
Help us to forgive others.
Keep __________heart soft for You,
for Your Word, for prayer,
and for those that You put in their life,
that they may keep their heart from evil and sin.
Thank You for Your grace and mercy.
