The “Things Above” Are Hiding Behind the “Things Below”
By Michael Kelley
Every day, you and I wake up to all kinds of priorities and demands. There is laundry to be done. Kids to be delivered. Groceries to be bought. Meetings to be conducted. And so it goes. Day after day. Though the specific items on the to-do list might change, they’re still kind of the same.
In the midst of all the tedium, isn’t there a part of you that wonders if this is all there is? Sure, there are things that have to be done, but still you sense there’s just… more. If you’ve ever felt that way, then Colossians might be the book for you right now.
Colossians is a book of the Bible that calls us to higher things. It casts a cosmic vision of who Jesus is and what our calling is as Christians. By way of example, consider this in the first chapter:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Col. 1:15-17).
What an awe-inspiring view. It’s like Paul takes us from the valleys of earth to the top of the theological mountains and says, “Take a look around you. Expand your vision. Understand what’s really happening here.”
This is his call to us when we enter chapter 3. After casting this expansive and cosmic vision of Jesus, here’s his first application:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:1-3).
Now that Paul has taken us to the mountaintop, he tells us to keep our vision there. Keep our focus on things above. Let your mind be fixed on the universal greatness of Jesus and don’t be consumed with the trivial things of the world.
But here’s the problem - the earthly things don’t go away.
The laundry still has to be done. The meetings still have to be conducted. The errands still have to be run and the mortgage still has to be paid. The problem with fixing our minds and hearts on things above is that we have a thousand earthly things that occupy our minds and hearts. Making it worse is the fact that we cannot - and should not - avoid these earthly things. They simply have to be done.
How do we deal with that? How do we reconcile the call fix our minds and hearts on things above when there are so many things below that require our attention? Here’s how you DON’T reconcile it - you DON’T neglect the things below. You don’t stop taking your kids places or paying your bills.
No, the solution is not to neglect them, but to go through them. That’s because the things above are very often hiding behind the things below. Let’s think about it with a common situation.
Let’s say you have a meeting to go to that’s required of you by your job. You know, based on who else is attending, that this is not going to be a well-run meeting. It will be inefficient, frustrating, and generally a waste of time, but you still have to be there. Now you could argue that you are fixing your mind on things above, so you are going to go but not pay attention and instead let your mind wander to bigger things.
Or…
Or you could realize that this very tedious meeting is, in and of itself, an opportunity to fix your mind above. You could keep reading in Colossians to where Paul talks about situations like this and reminds us:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Col. 3:23-24).
Our true boss is Jesus. And this meeting is an opportunity to submit yourself to His authority and to do it with all your heart. This is how the things above are hiding behind the things below. So don’t neglect the tedious. Don’t abandon what seems mundane. Instead, press into it. Find the higher things behind it. And fix your mind and heart there.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.
