If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1
A cloak of sorrow hung over the small crowd as we gathered to commit the mortal remains of a dear man to the dust from whence he was taken. Even the reminder to us that he is not in the coffin but in the Glory did little to raise our spirits. The reminder to us that those same mortal remains will one day be raised incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:54) served only to reinforce upon us our loss. Although death is a release to the one who is departed, death is so cruel to those who are left behind. And yet, God would have us take comfort in knowing that the victory that we have received over death is something that we should appreciate even when we are brought into the presence of the king of terrors.
Our text does not say that we will be risen with Christ, although that is surely true. No, it says that we have been risen with Christ. If we are saved, if we have trusted in Christ for our present and our eternal salvation, we have received His resurrection as part of the bundle of blessings that salvation brings. Upon conversion, our soul was delivered from damnation and secured for the Glory, our spirit was rescued from the rudiments of this world and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and our dying body was given the promise that its death will be temporary and its resurrection eternal. These are accomplished works, and we take comfort and encouragement in them. But our text tells us that we ought also to take direction from them.
Being risen with Christ means that the focus of our life should also be changed. No longer are we to pursue the ambitions, the attitudes, the riches, the entertainments of this world. Those things were important to us when we were living in and for this world. But we are risen in Christ, and we are to seek those things that are above. This reminds us of the words of the following verse: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Our desires should be changed from the things of this world to the things of the world to come. The world’s mad stampede to satisfy the lusts of the flesh should be transformed into a fervent desire to serve and please the Lord Who saved us. Instead of grasping and grovelling in the world’s riches and delights, we ought to be laying up treasure in Heaven where it will be eternally secure. Our highest ambitions should not be to receive the accolades and praises of men but to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).
Seeking for the things which are above is possible only if we appreciate how we are risen with Christ. – Jim MacIntosh