Seated with Christ

“……who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials….. “ (1 Peter 1:5-6, NKJV).

Our position as children of God is unique. We seem to live in two realms, in the world and in the heavenly realm. It's as if we have dual citizenship. One citizenship on Earth and another, we are citizens of heaven.

In our heavenly citizenship, right now, we are already seated with Christ. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. Take a moment to imagine that.

Right now, we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. In that realm, there's no lack, no sickness, no sin, no sorrow, and no problems! That's why Peter says, rejoice! Greatly rejoice!

Right now.

Not tomorrow or after we pass away.

However….

However, right now, our feet are still on Earth. And hence Peter reminds us that for a little while, we may experience grief. We still have to face challenges and trials on this Earth.

On this Earth, there are viruses and bacteria, and we can still get sick.

In this world, there are people who can complicate or even harm us.

Here, we still have to toil hard to make ends meet.

And in this realm, relationships with others, even family, can be troublesome.

Now, if we focus our minds on all our problems on Earth, our lives become more stressed. Small things not going our way can easily lead to disappointment and anger. We become easily triggered to lose temper.

So, what should we do?

Try to calm down and take a deep breath for a moment. Close your eyes and imagine yourself seated with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven right now. See our situation that right now, we are sitting with Christ in the heavenly realm, in the dimension of eternal time.

Yes, the problems we face on Earth are still there, and there will always be problems, anyway. But we know that it's only temporary from the perspective of eternity. We who are seated with Christ are conquerors because of Christ's love for us (Romans 8:37). That's our destiny. Paul says, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:1-3, NKJV).

Gradually, as we set our mind on things above and surrender our thoughts in the peace of Christ we’ll feel His overflowing peace in our hearts.