ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR

“Just Do It.” The iconic Nike slogan has inspired millions, not only to work out, but also to purchase the swoosh-branded gear. Unfortunately, many Christians have unknowingly adopted a similar “Just Do It” mindset when approaching the gospel command, “Set your minds on things above” (Col. 3:2). But here’s the problem: apart from first resting in the gospel reality of our union with Christ, we cannot carry out this command. As we slow down to consider the context of Paul’s words, we find something far better than mere motivation—we find the hope-filled reality that empowers and invites us to set our hearts and minds on the things above.

The Hope-filled Gospel Reality

As Paul so often does in his epistles, he begins by proclaiming gospel realities (also called “gospel indicatives”), naming what is true of us because we are united with Christ. He then follows these realities with gospel commands (also called “gospel imperatives”). To fully understand and live out Paul’s exhortation to “Set our minds on things above,” we must first consider our identity in Christ.

In Colossians 1-2, Paul describes our new identity in Christ: we have “faith in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:4), we have been made “mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28), and we “walk in him” (Col. 2:6). In Him we also have “redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14), and in Him, we are reconciled with God (Col. 2:21). Most importantly, our citizenship has changed. Because of Christ’s work on the Cross and our faith in Him, we have moved from the “domain of darkness” to the “kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13-14). We have been “buried with him in baptism” and “raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12).

In Colossians 3:1, Paul connects this new identity to our new home: “Since then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.” Paul urges the Colossians and us with them to understand that we have not only a new identity in Christ but also a new citizenship in the heavenly kingdom, the kingdom of our Savior. This new identity and new citizenship empower and inspire us to live in a radically new way.  Just as an emigrant from the UK to the US must learn to drive on the right-hand side of the road, we too must conform to a new culture. Unlike the emigrant, we are empowered to live our new reality by our union with Christ.

Engage Your Imagination

Because of the gospel indicative of our new identity and new citizenship, we can obey the gospel imperative to “set our minds on things above.” But we will need to engage our imaginations, because the “things above” differ from the things of this earth (Col. 3:2).

To understand how to engage our imaginations, consider my (adorable) two-year-old granddaughter. For Christmas, she received her first baby doll. The doll came with many accessories, including pretend diapers. My little granddaughter loved changing her baby’s diaper, but soon, she decided the pretend diapers were dirty and wanted to throw them in the diaper pail. She then wanted to use real diapers, which also became “dirty,” and needed to be tossed. As you can see, our granddaughter saw her baby as a real baby with real diapers that got really dirty. To set our minds on things above is to see our new heavenly home as real, even now. Or as one author put it, to set our minds on things above is “not a command to crane our necks and look at the skies but to look for a reality beyond what we can naturally see.”[1]

Empowered by our union with Christ, we can begin to engage our imaginations as expertly as my little granddaughter. Through gospel lenses, we start to see that the “things above” are not just real, they are our truest reality. Because we are united with Christ in His death (Col. 3:3), His resurrection (3:1, 3), and His ascension (3:1), our lives have been radically transformed. Christ is our past, our present, and our future. One day, He will return, and we will “appear with him in glory” (3:4). When we fully engage our imaginations and fix our minds on this reality, then the things of this earth—the potty-training disasters and cancer diagnoses, the looming work deadlines and the last days with our aging parents—will, as the old hymn says, grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Set Your Minds on Things Above

To set our minds on things above is to be so heavenly-minded that we actually do a lot of earthly good. It is to remember that Christ is our life, and when He appears, we will not only join Him in glory, we will also be fully glorified. Knowing that our truest lives and truest selves come from Christ and are lived in His kingdom, we begin to live as those who belong to another country. We will put sin to death and clothe ourselves in garments suitable for the climate of heaven (See Col. 3:5-11). Forever freed from the power of our sinful nature, we will humbly change the dirty diapers, kindly compliment the work frenemy who steals our ideas, and compassionately care for the homeless man holding a sign that says, “anything helps.” We will seek the face of our Savior in His living Word and radiate His beauty to others who desperately need to see it. We will sing, maybe even dance, in gratitude and awe of our glorious God. In short, whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we will do it from hearts overflowing with thankfulness to God for our union with Christ. We will live from His glory and for His glory (See Col. 3:12-17).

Dear friends, how we need to grasp the profound hope held out to us in the gospel-rich message of Colossians. We were never meant to rely on our own strength or sheer willpower to “Just Do It.” God has united us with Christ, our Savior, who empowers us to seek the things of our true and eternal home, to set our minds on things as yet unseen but even now our deepest reality.  As we rest in the power of this union, we find strength to put off our old sinful ways and to put on the new self, habits and hearts shaped by the life of heaven. So let us live the future into the present, today and every day, rejoicing that Christ is our life, and His glory is both our hope and our calling.

[1] Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2016), 285.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash