SCRIPTURE - Colossians 3:1 - 4 (NIV)

Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When  Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

In this passage, Paul talks to us about the focus of our lives. He says that our focus can either be on earthly things, or on things above - where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. He is not suggesting that we don’t pay attention to things in this world. God created the world, and all the material blessings we have come from His gracious hand to enjoy. The writer of Ecclesiastes  

says, “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25).

What Paul is saying, is that all the good things we enjoy in this life should not be our ultimate focus. We were ultimately created for another world, a better world. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.” We were made for life with Christ - forever. Our lives on this planet are but a second compared to eternity with Him. 

Think about a trip you might take to a different country. You pay close attention along the way to the details and events of your trip. But your focus is on your ultimate destination. So it is with us. We live in this world, but our focus is to be on the world to come as our ultimate destination.

What does that mean? It means that we use our time, gifts and financial resources to make investments in our ultimate destination. Every time we serve others, come alongside a hurting individual, share our faith or make investments in God’s work through our church or in helping others, we are doing so because that is what God wants us to do, and we do them with our final destination in mind. We temporarily live in one world, but our final destination is a different world.

Think about this. There are only three things that cross the line between time and eternity. Three things that we take with us. Our own spiritual maturity, the lives we have influenced for Jesus and the investments we have sent ahead of us by investing in God’s work. Everything else, we leave behind. This is why it is so important to set our hearts and minds on things above - on our final destination - rather than to settle for focusing on the now, as if this is the ultimate purpose of life. Because we have died , and our lives are now hidden with Christ in God, our priorities and focus becomes that of joining Him in His work in this world.

There will be a day when we meet Jesus face to face. When He gazes into our eyes, we will know that everything we did for Him was worth it. That every sacrifice we made for Him was worth it. That every life we touched and every investment we made in His work was worth it. So today, live with that day in mind, and focus on how you can be Jesus to those around you and join Him in his work. You will never regret it.

Father, it is so easy for me to focus on all the distractions I have around me and forget my ultimate destination and the One that I serve. Remind me often today to live life with You in mind and to represent You in a world that largely does not know You. Amen.