Looking Up Before Looking Around
Having the Mind of Christ — Devotion 6 of 10
Colossians 3:1-2 — “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.”
Opening Reflection
Paul begins this instruction with a foundation, not a demand: “if then you have been raised with Christ.” The command to set our minds on things above is not an attempt to earn a new identity. It flows from an identity already given - believers have been raised with Christ, united to Him in resurrection life, before they are ever told where to fix their gaze.
This is the third movement in the renewal of the mind: not merely turning away from the flesh, but turning toward something specific - the things that are above, where Christ Himself is seated. A mind emptied of worldly patterns still needs somewhere to be filled, and Paul points us upward.
A heavenward mind does not withdraw from earthly responsibilities. It learns to see them from the perspective of Christ’s reign. We can engage the world faithfully without allowing its pressures, possessions, and anxieties to become ultimate, because our deepest reality is anchored where Christ is.
Taking a Devotional View
The phrase “seek the things that are above” describes an ongoing pursuit. Because believers have already been raised with Christ, they are called to live from that identity by continually seeking what accords with Him. Once again, identity comes before instruction: we look upward because our life is already bound to the One who is above.
“Set your minds” translates the same phroneo family of words seen in Philippians 2:5 and Romans 8:5-6. The consistent thread through these passages is that the mind of Christ is not passive - it is actively, continually directed toward something. Here, that something is Christ Himself, seated in glory, and the perspective that gives to everything on earth.
Key Thoughts & Takeaways
Key Thoughts
- The command to set the mind on things above is grounded in already being raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1).
- Seeking the things above is an ongoing pursuit, not a single decision.
- A heavenly mindset does not mean disengaging from earthly life, but seeing it rightly.
- This passage uses the same family of words for “mind” found throughout the series.
Ask Yourself
- What earthly concerns most easily crowd out a heavenward focus in my thinking?
- How does remembering I am “raised with Christ” change how I face today’s pressures?
- What would it look like to hold something I care about more loosely this week?
- What practice could help me seek the things above more consistently?
Lord, You have already raised me with Christ - help me to actually live from that reality. Turn my eyes upward before they are pulled downward by the concerns of this world. Set my mind on things above, where Christ is seated. In His name, amen.