Higher Life – April 14, 2020

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.
Colossians 3:1,2

Higher Life

I know nothing about savings bonds. Today I went to an online calendar and tried to figure out the value of a $50 savings bond my child received in 2011. Over the course of almost 10 years, it’s gained $1.46 in total interest. The person who gave it to her definitely had her future in mind. I’m just not sure we realized how far into the future we’d have to go to see the benefits.

Does the promise of Easter ever feel that way―like something that might pay off at some time in the distant future, but that’s maybe not all that much benefit to people living a troubled life in a difficult world today?

Easter doesn’t just mean future good things when we die. It means good things for God’s people today. Having an “alive” Jesus leads to us having an “ascended” Jesus and having an “ascended” Jesus means that right now, today, as we speak, we have a friend in high places! A friend who sits in the highest place, to be more specific—at the very right hand of God himself.

That leads to a new perspective on our lives right now. Paul encourages us “to seek the things that are above.” You see if what we amass during our 70 or 80 years in this world is the entirety of our existence…it’s not hard to see why folks put so much time and effort into “getting”—getting status, getting “likes,” getting stuff. But knowing that the 70 or 80 years here is only the introduction to our story, and there is a higher throne and an eternal home waiting for us, our focus turns. It turns from downward and inward to outward and upward. To a higher life—one that’s not just waiting for us when we die, but also affecting the way we look at our lives right now.

Easter changed the people who experienced it. You can bet that the women at the tomb were never the same after seeing the angels and hearing their message. You can bet that Peter and John were never the same after seeing that Jesus had risen. So also Easter changes us. It sets our minds on a higher life.

Prayer:
Risen Savior, remind me daily that you sit at the right hand of God, and help me to live my life, setting my mind on things above. Amen.