Too Heavenly Minded?

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. Colossians 3:2-3 KJV

“Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good!” is a phrase I have heard a lot. It is usually stated with a knowing grin as if to say, “You’ll come around and get a grip on reality one day.” But the older I get and the closer the realities of Heaven become, the more I realize that nothing on earth is more important or more real than Heaven. In fact, today’s verse tells us not to keep our eyes on earth but urges us to set our sights and affections on Heaven because that is where Jesus is.

One day, the flowers in our gardens will die, the mementos in our China hutches will sit on a shelf in a thrift shop and the savings in our bank accounts will be spent. But the things of heaven, like the love of God for a neighbor, the joy of having sins forgiven and the peace that comes from knowing God will never grow old. One day we will close our eyes on earth and open them to see Jesus. A moment will come when we draw our last breath on earth and our first in heaven. When all is said and done, no one will do more good on earth than someone who is always Heavenly minded. May our highest goal be to sing all the verses God gives us to our song on earth, so that one day we can finish the chorus with the angels at the feet of our Heavenly Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Hope of Heaven

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25

Hoping for heaven has sometimes been given a bad rap by the church. Some of this has been a push back on old hymns and past sermons that focused exclusively on heavenly bliss and ignored the importance of our time on earth.  But neither our greatest victories, our worst failures, our highest dreams nor our worst sufferings can compare with what lies ahead for us in heaven.

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When our boys were young they made for themselves wooden plaques with their names carved in them to hang over the doors to their rooms. It was their way of staking out their own personal territory.  In the same way God has staked out a territory in heaven for each of us who have put our hope in Jesus Christ. He has engraved our name over the door of our home there. There is nothing wrong with that great joyful longing to be together forever with Jesus in the place He has prepared for us.  We can say with David, “Who do I have either in heaven or earth but you Lord?”  This hope of heaven strengthens our hearts in life’s storms and lightens our load so we can carry the burdens of others. This hope shines through any dark night and lights our path all the way to our home!