If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)
This Sunday is Easter Sunday for millions of Christians. On this day, we will remember the most earth-shattering, life-changing event in history: The resurrection of the Son of God.
Many of us have probably said at one point or another, or heard someone say, that Easter Sunday isn’t the only day we should remember the resurrection. Indeed, we gather corporately every Sunday to commemorate Christ’s triumph over the grave. Furthermore, the reality of the resurrection is not to be remembered on Sundays only but every day.
Our text for this Sunday will challenge us to keep the reality of the resurrection at the forefront of our minds on a regular basis. Yes, we ought to gather corporately and worship Christ together in song, in prayer, in the word; yes, we ought to praise God for the resurrection each Easter, and each Sunday; yes, we ought to remember the resurrection by reading about it and proclaiming it as a true, historical event. We must do these things. But we must ask, how do these things impact how we live and how we think?
In other words, what is the point of planning an Easter service, choosing the right songs, coming to church dressed up, proclaiming, “He is risen!”, and hearing a sermon about the resurrection, if nothing in our lives has changed? Why believe in a resurrection if we are debilitated by death? Why proclaim a risen King if we are living in fear of worldly rulers? Why meditate on eternal and heavenly things when we are bogged down by earthly things?
The Apostle Paul says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above . . .not on things on the earth.” Seek things above. Set your minds on them. The resurrection changes your thoughts, your attitude, your interactions with this world. Far too often there is a great disconnect between what we say we believe and how we practice our faith. This Easter Sunday, ask the Lord to speak to your heart through his word, so that as you reflect on the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus, you will live and think in such a way that reflects that reality!