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Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2
Set your heart on things above. Live for heaven, and you’ll enjoy life. How does that happen? Many ways, but I’ll suggest three ...
Number One: your treasure. Jesus said, ‘Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Matthew 6:21).
For one week, I had a crush on Denise Fuller and wanted to take her to our church youth group’s spring banquet. In order to pay for it, however, I had to sell my one share of American Motors stock which I had bought for twelve bucks. Now, I was really into my one share of stock — so much so that, although I was a big San Francisco Giants fan, before I checked out the box scores to see how Mays, Cepeda, and McCovey were doing each day, I turned to the stock page to check on American Motors’ progress. But when this banquet came up, I sold my one share of stock. And guess what. Once I sold my share, I never turned to the stock page again. I just lost interest.
When Jesus tells us to lay up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20), it’s not God’s way of raising money. Knowing that where our treasure is, our heart will follow, it’s His way of raising our hearts and minds out of this world and up into heaven. You see, if you invest your treasure in American Motors, that’s where your heart will be. If you put your treasure in your house or hobby, your heart will be there as well. Your heart follows your treasure — so one of the ways we set our hearts on things above is by investing in the Kingdom.
Secondly, we live for heaven through our trials. I am convinced God will send a trial a day our way just to keep us homesick for heaven. If He didn’t, we would become bound up in this earth and would miss out eternally on what He has in store for us.
A third way the Lord gets me to set my heart and mind on things above is by transfers — when the people we love precede us into heaven. This process is very important because when you have transferred friends, parents, and spouses in heaven, your heart longs to be there all the more keenly.
Treasures, trials, transfers — three ways our hearts can be constantly set on things above.
Colossians 3:2
Set your heart on things above. Live for heaven, and you’ll enjoy life. How does that happen? Many ways, but I’ll suggest three ...
Number One: your treasure. Jesus said, ‘Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Matthew 6:21).
For one week, I had a crush on Denise Fuller and wanted to take her to our church youth group’s spring banquet. In order to pay for it, however, I had to sell my one share of American Motors stock which I had bought for twelve bucks. Now, I was really into my one share of stock — so much so that, although I was a big San Francisco Giants fan, before I checked out the box scores to see how Mays, Cepeda, and McCovey were doing each day, I turned to the stock page to check on American Motors’ progress. But when this banquet came up, I sold my one share of stock. And guess what. Once I sold my share, I never turned to the stock page again. I just lost interest.
When Jesus tells us to lay up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20), it’s not God’s way of raising money. Knowing that where our treasure is, our heart will follow, it’s His way of raising our hearts and minds out of this world and up into heaven. You see, if you invest your treasure in American Motors, that’s where your heart will be. If you put your treasure in your house or hobby, your heart will be there as well. Your heart follows your treasure — so one of the ways we set our hearts on things above is by investing in the Kingdom.
Secondly, we live for heaven through our trials. I am convinced God will send a trial a day our way just to keep us homesick for heaven. If He didn’t, we would become bound up in this earth and would miss out eternally on what He has in store for us.
A third way the Lord gets me to set my heart and mind on things above is by transfers — when the people we love precede us into heaven. This process is very important because when you have transferred friends, parents, and spouses in heaven, your heart longs to be there all the more keenly.
Treasures, trials, transfers — three ways our hearts can be constantly set on things above.
