Mind on heavenly things

"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." Colossians 3:1-2

What if your mind is so set on heavenly things that you are of no earthly good?

This was exactly what I asked Joe, my husband when I started having my quiet time on "50 Days of Heaven", by Randy Alcorn.

When I was in college, and became a Christian for the first time, I got so fired up about heaven and about my salvation -- and of bringing as many as possible to heaven. To be honest, I poured my entire time, energy, heart, thought, ambition, mind--all my resources into the ministry.

It came to the point when I was not afraid of losing any of my earthly endeavors. I didn't care about what degree to finish -- it's not what I wanted to do with my life anyway. I didn't care about money at all. I have experienced hunger in some ways. I didn't care about grades. I became numb to what others said about me. Some of my friends and relatives thought I have trashed myself and my future. They say "sayang", which is the Filipino word equal to "damaged goods."

I spent so much time into counseling and into the ministry that I didn't get enough sleep. One time, my professor called me into her office and asked if I was taking drugs. I was losing weight, getting dark coz of exposure to the sun, often sleepy in class. I also was often late for her 7 am classes that eventually, she had to dismiss me from her class. It was a major subject and it took its toll on my education.

I guess I got what I deserved when even my university decided to dismiss me. It was such a bad example to other students that I was also kicked out of the ministry I was involved in.

What's my point here? I guess I'm confused. There was a point in my life that I was willing to leave everything behind for Jesus. I only cared about going to heaven and fulfilling the great commission in my generation. I will not claim to be perfect during those "zealous" times of my life. I knew I had sinned against God in so many ways even as I tried to "do" so many things that I thought was "heavenly."

Another thing that confuses me is the idea of success. In our workplaces, we are called to be successful. I have observed that in the corporate world, in order to be successful, you have to have a certain degree of pride and ambition, self-trust, drive, inward and egotistic focus, dishonesty if need be. You have to pour time, energy, thought, heart, mind, soul into it. If you truly want to be successful in the corporate world, you have to compete by comparing your performance with others. You have to work extra harder than everyone else. You have to set aside some of your other priorities such as family and God and work even beyond work hours.

What if you are a worker who simply wants a balance life? You want to be able to give heart, mind, soul, effort, energy and time to all your priorities in order of importance of course. How can you really excel when you try to be an 8 to 5 worker (because) you want to focus on other things after those hours? How can you compete with those who stretch their work beyond their normal work hours? Everyone knows that in this world, the least productive gets kicked out first.

Sure, we are to set our minds on heavenly things. What does it really mean? How does it look like? How does a mind that's set on heavenly things function? How should this kind of mindset affect our daily living?

Hmm...I guess the rest of Colossians 3 answers my questions:

3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Can it be that though I walk this earth, I'm actually living a different life in the spiritual realm? In that realm, all the good that I do matters. In that realm, my earthly achievements don't matter. In that realm, everytime I make the right decision, I am rewarded. In that realm, every little thing I did for God's kingdom is noted down. That is the "real" life I'm living right now. It is hidden with Christ in God...but someday, when Christ appears, I will also appear with him in glory.

Then I will meet my true self.

5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

To be heavenly focused means to get rid of the "idols" of my life. Sad to say, my present confusion on things might be because I have other idols in my life. There are evil desires and greed in my heart. I desire to be successful in the eyes of the world. I rationalize this by saying, "Well, as a Christian, I should be a great example to unbelievers."

This may be true, but God weighs the heart. Could He be seeing that I am in the danger of idolatry if I ever became successful in the standards of this world? Is this why He's held success from me?

For instance, I often tell Joe that in order for us to reach out to his parents, we have to gain their respect. I always said that, like every human being that looks at the outward appearance, his parents value the outward things. Therefore, we can only reach out to them once we've proven ourselves successful. I also have this nagging desire in my heart to "redeem" myself before my family and friends. I wanted to show them that I am not "sayang". I wanted to show them that I am still the Engracia they used to know -- smart, able, high-achieving.

I also have tendencies towards lust and impurities. The person who truly has his/her mind on heavenly things will not lust. It's unimaginable to be walking the spiritual realm with lust and impurity in my heart. My life is now hidden in Christ and behind that spiritual curtain, my real self is hidden.

But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Again, it is inconceivable for Christ to lie and to have these sins in His heart. I am being renewed in knowledge in the image of my Creator. Setting my mind in heaven means continuously repenting of my sins and growing to become like Jesus. This is how God wants us to live life from now on.

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Compassion.
Kindness.
Humility.
Gentleness.
Patience.
Grace.
Love.

As long as I am growing in these aspects, I must be happy. My true self is hidden with Christ.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The peace of Christ -- how I long for it.
Thankful-- when was the last time I was truly thankful?
Let Christ's word dwell in me richly.
Get involved with others: teach, admonish one another with all wisdom, sing together with gratitude in our hearts to God.

17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Do everything, say everything in Jesus' name. It's about Jesus. It's about his name -- NOT mine. Do everything in His name, not mine. No, no, not mine. How wrong of me to do things in my name.

18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

There it is...work with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as WORKING FOR THE LORD. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Main gleanings from this QT:

1. My real life is hidden in Christ. My reward and inheritance is from the Lord -- not from the world.
2. Heavenly mindset is getting rid of all the sins that used to enslave us before we came to know Christ. Heavenly mindset is growing in the fruits of the Spirit.
3. Work and serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Dedicate all my work and my words to Jesus and do them in Jesus' name.

Decision:

I am starting to build home business now. I have Joe and another friend to guide me through it. My husband has been truly insightful and helpful with his input but I tend to brush him aside and not take him seriously.

I didn't have a heavenly mindset. I thought I was doing it to feel fulfilled and to become accomplished as a person. I thought I needed to do it because we need money to support our family. That's why things were heavy in my heart and I couldn't find the motivation to go on.

But God has shown me this great opportunity. Yes, it is an opportunity to earn money. However, more importantly, it is an opportunity to glorify God. I MUST DO THINGS IN THE NAME OF JESUS, not in my name.

It is an opportunity to pour myself into things that matter most: GOD, family, ministry.

PRAYER:
Please God. Help me not get distracted. Help me remember what You just taught me today. I love you. Amen.