We left off saying that true spirituality is from the heart. Christianity is not about religion; it’s about following a person. Jesus isn’t someone we one day decide to believe and then tuck away and forget. He desires an authentic, ongoing relationship with us. To do this takes effort, and if you are a believer it should be the driving force of your life. Jesus told us that before anything else, we should seek the Kingdom of God. In short, what that means is to put God first. We must fill our thoughts with His desires, not ours.
To be honest, many of us are haunted by sins of the past. We can constantly struggle with temptations or bad habits we have a hard time breaking. There are plenty of us who don’t live differently… we just do not feel like we’re experiencing this new resurrected life promised to us. Does anyone know what I’m talking about? Some of us could be saying “You’re right, but tell me how to get along with my spouse. What about that guy at work who has it out for me? How about that person getting on my last nerve? Tell me how I’m supposed to_______ ?” Well- I can’t tell you, but Paul can…
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3: 1-4
We can’t give up seeking the Kingdom first because of some spiritual setback in our lives. You can experience that victory, you really can! If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God… This is referring to our new birth. Through faith God brought us into union with Christ, and He is the only one who is capable to give us the victory! If you’ve been raised to a new way of life, the key is thinking about that new life. This is where the biggest contrast against that new life can be. What do I need to do? How do I live this new life?
“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6: 4
We are defeated if we have new life in us, but our minds are stuck on the things below. When we’re stuck on the old way of life, it’s pretty difficult to desire seeking the things of God! Our thought lives determines what’s important to each one of us. Didn’t Jesus say our treasure is where our heart is? It’s a deliberate choice we have to make, a deliberate act of the will. We can’t give up seeking the Kingdom first because of some spiritual setback in our lives, we have to persevere! So what do you choose?