The Second Sunday in Easter

Colossians 3:1-17

Being Heavenly-Minded

I have heard it said, “Well, he’s so heavenly-minded that he’s of no earthly good.”  Now if we mean by that that a certain person always has his head in the clouds, well then I agree, but such a one would hardly merit the description of “heavenly-minded.”  “Airhead” would be a better word.  But “heavenly-minded” should be defined along the lines that Paul wrote about in the passage above.  The Christian seeks first and foremost “the things that are above.”  Indeed, he scorns earthly things for the heavenly.  Why?  Because he “has died and [his] life is hidden with Christ in God.”

This is such a beautiful passage of Scripture.  Paul is describing the reality for the Christian.  As baptized believers, we have died to sin and self.  We seek not the things of this world.  We must use them, of course, but all things for the believer are now oriented towards God.  In other words, Christians love earthly things for God’s sake, or for God’s glory.  And if I’m not loving something for God’s sake, then either it is something I shouldn’t have, or, if I do have it, I desperately need to repent and love it as I should – for God’s sake, His glory, His purposes, and as He would love them.  This is even true of the people we love.  Ultimately, I must love everyone (spouse, children, friends, enemies) for God’s sake if I am to love them rightly.  Otherwise, my loves will be disordered.  I will either love someone or something for my sake, which is selfish and makes me a master to that which I love wrongly, or I will love that someone or something for his/her/its sake, which is idolatry and makes me a slave to that which I love wrongly.

So I must love things for God’s sake – His will, purposes, and ways.  And how do I do that?  By being heavenly-minded.  And how do I do that?  Paul spells it out very clearly.  He tells us what to put to death in ourselves, which are all those sinful desires that cause us to see people and things as mere objects of our delight.  He then calls us to live according to the heavenly life “seeing that [we] have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.”  In other words, now that we have been born again of the Spirit of God, let us live according to God’s holy will exercising compassion, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love towards one another.  In doing so, we love people for God’s sake.  Such a heavenly-minded person is of quite a bit of earthly good.  May we be so heavenly-minded ourselves that we may be of some earthly good as well.

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor View all posts by The Reformed Baptist