Setting Our Minds on Things Above
We resume our Wednesday night dinner and Bible study on February 17th. Last fall, we considered some of the hot button topics of our time. After that series was over, I found myself semi-burned out and convicted that I needed to spend some time getting back to Christian basics. And getting back to things that bring me great joy. Hence my Sunday School series on Reformed Theology. And now our new Wednesday night study on Heaven.
Colossians 3:1-2 says, "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 minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." This may be the command Christians, myself included, disobey more than any other.
With the seemingly omnipresent barrage of media and social media in our culture, it's hard to take our minds off "things that are on earth." I heard a political commentator say a while back that the media in our country (regardless of its political bent) serves like the Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings. They are like an all-seeing eye constantly looking for the next emergency to shine their light, and fix our gaze, upon. They make a living by fixing our minds on "things that are on earth." And they tend to focus on the worst things that are on earth.
I've unplugged from social media lately and have been reading Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven. I recommend it to you. The one thing that has struck me most is that while Alcorn shines his light on the Bible's description of Heaven, I've found myself actually wanting to go there. I say "actually wanting" because the reality is that most of the time Heaven is far from my thoughts. I needed a reminder of where my true home is. I think we all do. How often do you think about the fact your true citizenship is in heaven? That you are a pilgrim and stranger on the earth? That here you have no lasting city, but are seeking a city that is to come? That you are commanded to set your mind on "things that are above?"
C.S. Lewis writes, "If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next." Great thoughts of a great Heaven lead us to do great things for Christ on earth. We don't need to think constantly of the things on earth in order to change the earth. We change the earth by proclaiming the gospel of the Son of God, who came down to earth to bring us up to heaven.
So come, join us, and we'll spend a few weeks thinking about our true home, setting our minds on "things that are above." Reservations for dinner are open beginning today. The menu and reservation form are located here. I look forward to seeing many of you. And if you have non-Christian friends, invite them. This would be a great time for them to listen in on our conversation about a far better world - a world they long for, even if they don't realize it.