Colossians 3:1-11
Be Still: Gracious Father, still our hearts in your presence. Remove from us all noise so that we may hear your voice. As your Word is read enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills to follow you more faithfully. Amen.
Read: Colossians 3:1-11
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (v2)
Encounter: Colossians 3:1–11 calls us into a powerful shift of identity and focus. Paul begins, ’Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above.’ Our lives are no longer rooted in the old patterns of earthbound thinking. We now belong to a new kingdom, shaped by Christ’s resurrection.
Paul reminds us that our true life is ‘hidden with Christ in God,’ and one day that hidden life will be fully revealed when Christ appears. From this new identity flows a call to transformation. Paul urges believers to ‘put to death’ what belongs to the earthly nature. Sexual immorality, greed, anger, slander, and all forms of self-centredness. These attitudes and actions no longer fit who we are. We have taken off the ‘old self’ and put on the ‘new self,’ which is being renewed in God’s image.
This passage invites us to encounter a truth both comforting and challenging: God has already given us a new identity in Christ, and now he is shaping our character to match that identity. We are not merely improved. We are made new.
Apply: This text presses us to examine what we are setting our minds and hearts on. In daily life, it’s easy to become consumed with anxieties, ambitions or habits that pull us downward. Paul reminds us that transformation begins with focus. What we seek, we become. What is capturing your attention lately?
Paul’s call to ‘put to death’ the old ways is not about self-punishment but about surrender. We remove what harms us so that the life of Christ can flourish in us. What patterns have we tolerated rather than confronted? The new self is an ongoing work. You don’t have to force your transformation. You cooperate with the Spirit who shapes you into Christ’s image. Pause and ask yourself what step of partnership can you take today? Is it confession, forgiveness, a new habit or simply resetting your focus on Christ?
Devote: Lord Jesus, lift my eyes to the things above where you reign. Help me turn from anything that keeps me tied to my old ways. Renew me day by day, shaping me into your likeness. Let my mind, desires and actions reflect the new life you have given me.