Scripture "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." -- Colossians 3:1-4, KJV Reflection The Christian life is hidden. Not hidden in the sense of secretive or deceptive, but hidden in the sense of secured, protected, and awaiting revelation. Your true life -- the life that matters, the life that endures, the life that cannot be touched by sickness, bankruptcy, betrayal, or death -- is hid with Christ in God. Paul writes these words to a church surrounded by false teaching. Some said knowledge alone saves. Others said rules and regulations make you holy. Paul says neither. He says: you are already complete in Christ. You have been raised with him. Now seek the things above. "Set your affection on things above" -- the word for "affection" is phronao, to think, to set the mind. The Christian's battle is largely a battle of the mind. Where do your thoughts go when you are not required to think about anything? What captures your imagination? What do you daydream about? Paul says: direct that affection upward. Not because earthly things do not matter, but because they are not ultimate. Christ is ultimate. "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." This is the language of union with Christ. In the Reformed tradition, union with Christ is the golden thread that ties together justification, sanctification, and glorification. You are not merely forgiven; you are united to the living Christ. His life is your life. His future is your future. His hiddenness is your hiddenness -- and his appearing will be your appearing. This means that the believer can endure obscurity, suffering, and even apparent failure, because the verdict is not yet in. The world does not see what God sees. The world sees a clay pot; God sees treasure. The world sees death; God sees resurrection. Your life is hidden now, but it will be revealed in glory. Closing Prayer Lord Jesus, you are our life. We confess that we often set our minds on things below -- our anxieties, our ambitions, our appetites. Teach us to seek the things above, where you sit in majesty. Remind us that our true life is safe in you, untouched by the rust and moth of this world. Give us grace to live today as those who are hid with Christ, awaiting the glorious appearing when we shall be revealed with you. For your name's sake. Amen. Application Questions: 1. What "things on the earth" most often capture your affection and pull your mind away from Christ? 2. How does the promise that you will "appear with him in glory" change how you view present suffering, obscurity, or loss?