“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1–3).

These verses describe a mystery that exists in the life of the believer. We have a standing with Christ in heaven, even as we carry on our daily activities here on Earth. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4–6). Thus Paul warns against becoming focused upon our worldly cares and forgetting our eternal standing.

We see in our text a twofold prescription for keeping the heavenly. First we are to “seek those things which are above.” Christ said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). However, too many Christians are satisfied to mechanically pursue some heavenly motions. The passage goes on: “set your affection on things above.” Our passion is to be the pursuit of heaven. On what are your affections set? Where does your mind wander in a moment of respite? Contemplate your goals and consider what preoccupations stir your emotions. A. W. Tozer remarked, “Let us look out calmly upon the world; or better yet, let us look down upon it from above where Christ is seated and we are seated with him.” There is no comparable exhilaration to setting our affection upon the beautiful Person who is the highest sum of every good possible to be known and enjoyed in this world or that which is to come. DW