"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."
It takes determination to get up every morning, go to work, pass our grades, loose weight by dieting and exercise, cook and clean our homes, shop and do laundry, and raise our kids properly. But for the believer, what's most important and needful is to have the determination, the desire, the will to follow God.
Every blood-bought, born-again believer can be more determined to follow God by implementing a more heavenly orientation for life. In Paul's letter to the Colossians, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he said, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God [3:1]." So if we choose to be obedient to God then we will "seek those things which are above." The entire orientation of our lives will be centered on God, who, in the Scriptures, has revealed Himself and His will for all believers.
Most people in the world seek their own wills and follow their own dreams. A nice car, a beautiful home, a lucrative career, a tropical March vacation, a new smartphone, a comfortable retirement, or season tickets to a favorite football team; these are some examples of what the world seeks. As inhabitants of the earth, we too have physical needs. These needs, however, ought not to be what steers the trajectory of our lives.
Rather than seeking the things below, the Bible tells us to "seek those things which are above." Jesus told us to not worry about what we'll eat, drink, or wear. "For after all these things do the Gentiles seek," he said, "for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things (Matthew 6:32)." The pursuit of things below tends to absorb our lives and dissuade us from "seeking those things which are above." The orientations of our lives tends to be one which dismisses God's command because, "hey," we might say, "I'm just trying to survive. I don't have enough time to devote to God."
But if we honestly appreciate, deep in our hearts, that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty, which we deserved, and thereby provided a path for us to have become children of God, then, because of our gratefulness, we should want to "seek those things which are above," those things which have eternal benefits. Practically, these "things...above" may include the disciplines of prayer, daily Bible reading, witnessing, winning souls to Christ, and belonging to a local church where we attend regularly and serve.
The need for survival in this world tends to draw our focus away from God. And in these days of video games, Netflix, Facebook, the internet, books, tv, and various hobbies and distractions, we sometimes just want time to relax and take it easy, which is certainly okay from time to time. But if we're grateful to God for saving us then our most crucial desire should be to gaze heavenwards.
Looking above takes an act of the will. We have to decide to orient our lives toward "things...above." We won't find any examples of this inclination in the society around us. We have to decide for ourselves if we want to embrace and implement God's command.
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