Our text for this Sunday’s message is Colossians 3:1-4. This is the opening section of a majestic portion of Paul’s letter that seeks to apply what God has done for us in Christ to every-day living.

As you read these verses, you can see that there are two related commands, each flowing from the fact that all who are in Christ have been “raised with Christ” (v. 1). The first command is, “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (v. 1). The second command is, “set your mind on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth” (v. 2).

This is a way of saying that our salvation, which is eternally secure in our Savior, provides the basis for two specific expressions of obedience. One concerns what we are chasing after, or what we are seeking. The other deals with what we are thinking about and pondering.

This leads us to ask ourselves a couple of diagnostic questions as we prepare to study this passage: 1) What is it that your heart really longs for? 2) What is it that consumes or dominates your thoughts? Take a moment or two and reflect upon these questions in light of this passage (and the rest of chapter 3), and pray that our Father will speak His Word to us this Lord’s Day.