Colossians 3:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-10 – Seeking and Striving
For the one who knows the present reality of having died with Christ and being raised to newness of life and has the glorious future hope of eternal life in the presence of God, there are certain responsibilities that follow. The two phrases that the apostle Paul uses are ‘to seek’ and ‘set his mind on’. These phrases suggest two very important duties:
a. A Concerted Effort. The word translated ‘seek’ indicates a persevering effort such as that of somebody who is desperately searching for the greatest of treasures Matt. 6:33; 13:45. The ‘things above’ for which the child of God is to constantly be striving are all those spiritual qualities and gifts promised to the people of God in Christ vs 12ff. In other words, it is to strive to be more and more like Christ.
b. A Concentrated Mind. If the believer is to ‘seek’ the things above, he will need to concentrate his heart and mind to understand what ‘the things above, really are. They are to be the chief desire of the believer, to occupy his thoughts and fill his mind.
A person who is outside of Christ will quite obviously seek after worldly things and will have his heart set on things of sense and time – he may well expend great energy in seeking fame, fortune or position. The Christian, however, has a different nature, a different goal and a different master. The Scripture urges him to positive action, he must ‘overcome evil with good’ Rom.12:21, ‘Put on the Lord Jesus’ Rom. 13:14, ‘walk by the spirit’ Gal.5:16. He must always be thinking of those things that are true, honourable, just pure, lovely, and of good report Phil. 4:8,9. He must never become so attached to the things of this world that he loses sight of and desire for ‘the things above’.
Questions
- How can we balance our earthly ambitions – in our jobs, family etc. with the command to ‘seek those things that are above’?
Prayer Points
- Pray that you would seek after the things above.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.