Set your hearts and minds

a devotional series on Colossians 3:1-17

…set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

In the first part of verse 1 we are reminded of the foundation of the spiritual life – that we have been raised with Christ. Now, the Apostle Paul begins to teach us how we are to live in this new way of life (because remember salvation is not just about waiting for heaven one day, it is about living in God’s kingdom here and now!). We begin by “setting” our hearts and minds on different things. Several translations use the phrase “seek the things that are above” as opposed to “set your hearts”. The point that I believe Paul is making is that we must turn our hearts (aspirations, ambitions, desires, affections) and our minds (our thoughts, intellect) to seeking the way of Jesus. In other words, faith isn’t just a mental thing or just an emotional thing – it is a whole life thing!

This reminds me of one of Jesus’ own teachings found in Matthew 6:25-34 in which he tells us how life in God’s kingdom is to be. Jesus says not to worry about the things of this world (material things such as what we wear and what we eat), but to “seek first his kingdom and righteousness”. One way that Life in God’s Kingdom is different than life in this world is that we set our hearts and minds not on things that are temporary and will some day fade away, but on the eternal things that really matter. Now, this does not mean that God does not care about the mundane details of our daily life – in fact it is in the midst of our regular everyday life that we learn to set our heart and mind on different things and begin to see life with a new eternal perspective.

The key in this verse is the “setting” of our hearts and minds. Some people in this world have their “heart set” or their “mind set” on certain goals, dreams, aspirations. Unfortunately, they are usually just earthly things: a nice house, a good career, money, comfort, etc. But, having been raised to a new life, we must now ask our self: “What is my heart set on?” and “What is my mind set on?” And then as the Spirit gently shows us the ways in which we need to be transformed in our hearts and minds, we can begin to do the work of “setting” our hearts and minds on different things!

We do this in several ways:

 we can set our hearts on “Christ-things” by living generously and letting go of our “stuff” – Jesus said, “where your treasure is, your heart will be also”
 we can set our minds on “Christ-things” by studying and meditating – we are wired in a way that we conform to that which we study and concentrate on
 we can set our hearts on “Christ-things” by spending time in God’s presence – there is a time and place for prayer in which we ask for something, but we can also learn to sit in God’s loving presence and allow our hearts to be captured by God’s all consuming love in which all other affections fall by the side
 we can set our minds on “Christ-things” by engaging in activities that promote God’s goodness and beauty – Paul says, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable�if anything is excellent or praiseworthy�think about such things.”
So, as we learn to live in the new way of life embedded in us by the resurrection, we must learn to submit our hearts and minds to Christ and allow them to be transformed and conformed to his heart and mind.