IGNITE: DAY 20

THERE'S A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 20


Colossians 3:2-4

Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth. For you
have died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God.

When Christ who is your life appears,
then you also will appear with him in
glory. (ESV)

MEDITATION by Tim McDonald


If you are anything like me, when you hear Jesus’ words, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), it evokes a strange mixture of joyful hope and sorrowful longing. My soul hungers for abundant life. Every fiber in me groans for it, but in a world that is so broken, “life” can seem more complicated than abundant. It can feel more overwhelming than fulfilling. Life can seem so lifeless.

And it is here, in one simple sentence, that Paul challenges us to lift up our eyes. Change your focus, he says, from what you see “on earth” to “things that are above”…from what feels real to what is real. Rather than a call to escapism, it is a call to perspective. Knowing how prone we are as people to get stuck in the pain of circumstance and the seductions of false pleasures, he calls us to look up.

To us, Paul’s call can seem impractical and simplistic, even trite. How can we be expected to look beyond our senses to see that which we cannot see? It is not until we consider that this sentence was written by an imprisoned man—who knew much about broken systems, broken people, and being broken—that we are aware of the power of this call. Paul knew that this is the “earth” that we find ourselves “planted” in. Though often feeling more like the seed cast amongst thorns, “…choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life…” (Luke 8:14), he knew that it is here that God meets us. And, knowing all there is to know about our heart’s desires and our mind’s longings, our Lord gives us exactly what we need…himself. He is our life.

As we reflect on what God is igniting within us this Lenten Season, we must hear this call to lift up our eyes. Surely this is why Paul includes this exhortation in the middle of his letter to the Colossians, why the author of Hebrews calls the readers to “fix their eyes upon Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), and why Jesus himself calls his followers to abide in him (John 15:4).

Our great God, it seems, is never content to leave us as we are. Never content to see a life wasted, he hides the precious reality of who we are…who we are becoming…with himself in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). He beckons us to keep our eyes focused on what is really real…our life hidden with Jesus, his imminent return and our eternal relationship with him in glory.

But there’s more…knowing that we need more than to just "know" that we have to fight everyday for this life in Christ, God gave us in his holy scriptures the most powerful tool he can give—hope. Hope of who we really are. Hope of who we can and will become. Hope in who really holds us in himself.

And this hope does not disappoint!


REFLECTION


What ideas, thoughts, or behaviors have kept you from the life that God is calling you to?


What truths of the realities of who God is and who you are do you need to focus on as you seek God’s best for you?


What do you think of the possibility of being so heavenly minded that one is of no earthly good?