Realities Of Heaven

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. [Colossians 3.1-4]

In light of Jesus' instruction on how to pray, this passage from Paul's letter to the church at Colosse is highly explanatory!

Jesus was very specific in instructing us to pray for (declare) God's will on earth as it is in heaven. This perfectly coincides with Paul's instruction to set our sights on the realities of heaven! Paul further elaborates however that it is in heaven where Jesus sits in the place of honor at God's right hand.

Paul goes on then to direct us to think about the things of heaven as contrasted to thinking about the things of earth. Why? Because our ties to the earth - the world - and all it has to offer (cursed as the penalty for sin) - have been broken. Our faith in Jesus is our death to the world and all (the death and curse) it has to offer.

But we must remain mindful that our faith in Christ is the transcending factor in our detachment from the world AND our attachment to the realities of heaven! Our faith in Jesus is also our inheritance of His glory! As we reveal Christ, we share in His glory!

So, if we are not seeing the glory of the resurrected Christ in our lives, then perhaps we are not showing the resurrected Christ with our lives! But there is no way of showing the resurrected Christ to the world if our minds are set on the realities of the world instead of on the realities of heaven! This is precisely why Jesus taught us to pray for God's will on earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

No doubt, the realities of earth - the world - can be overwhelming. Sin and the curse are prevalent everywhere on the earth. But not so in heaven - and we are to look at heaven. Everything we base our lives and prayers on is in heaven. Just like Jesus, we are to be heavenly minded. And, we must reject the notion that there even is any earthly good... because there absolutely is no earthly good. Only God is good and He is in heaven. I am not making this up - even Jesus said the exact same thing.

The realities of heaven transcend the realities of earth in Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus healed the sick, preached the Good News, and raised the dead.

The realities of heaven transcend the realities of earth in us (as we live "Christ" in the world). That is why Jesus told us to do the works we saw Him do (and that we would do even greater works) - healing the sick, preaching the Good News and raising the dead. That is why Jesus told us to walk by faith not by sight.

The realities of heaven are in fact real. Our lives, like Jesus', are to show it.

Do our lives show the realities of heaven?

Father, forgive me for being a demonstrator of the realities of earth and not the realities of heaven like Jesus showed and instructed me to do. Help me to show and bring heaven to the world as Jesus instructed me to pray and to do.