Unrivalled: Christ the Ultimate InfluencerSample

Day 8: Fixated on the Eternal Things

Have you ever been so focused on a task that you inevitably become unaware and disinterested in what is going on around you? It could be you battling it out with your friends to clinch victory on your favourite mobile game or giving all your attention to your dysregulated child and trying all the means to calm him down. Everything else around you seems to fade into the background, and only what you are currently fixated on matters.

In today’s passage, Paul shifts from discussing what to avoid to what the believers should do instead. As people “raised with Christ,” Paul called them to set their minds on things above, where Christ is (v2). This calls for believers to desire God’s ways and centre their entire outlook in life on the eternal instead of on earthly things. This comes from our lives being now hidden in Christ (v3). He is our present security and future hope. We can lay aside our old ways, the world's ways, and pursue Him passionately, just as we were created to do.

Indeed, it takes diligence to turn our hearts and minds to Christ. It takes discipline to tune out the voices of the world that tell us the next thing to pursue. A continually ongoing effort is required because such a focus on Christ does not come automatically. This is not a call to deny our needs or responsibilities on earth. It is a call not to make earthly pursuits our idols and to desire more of Christ.

So., what occupies most of your mind and your affections? What do you think about on your daily commutes to and from school or work? What are you pursuing with your time and treasures? 17th-century author William Greenhill wrote, “We are said to love the world when we employ most of our strength in, on, and about the things of the world.”. Assess our hearts, ambitions, lifestyle, and your focus today. Are they oriented towards heaven or simply reflect your earthly priorities?

Hence, let us learn to manage our attention and ditch distractions that draw our minds away from Christ. Let our heart be so on fire for the things of God that it is fixated on pursuing and pleasing Christ that the allure of worldly things fades into the background.

Prayer Points

• Have you been too fixated on the things of the world? If you do, take a moment to confess your sins before God, for He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
• Ask the Lord to teach you how to fill your minds with the things of God. Ask the Lord to fill your hearts afresh with wholehearted devotion unto Him. Ask the Lord to strengthen your resolve to pursue Christ and His purposes throughout your life.