"If"
Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
As the saying goes, “If” is the middle word in life: Everything revolves around it. We say things like “I’m going to buy those shoes IF I get my paycheck tomorrow.” Or “I’m going on vacation this summer IF my parents, or my boss, or my husband or my wife, lets me”, or something along those lines. And rightly so since we really have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow (James4:14), it’s fairly appropriate to use “If” in everything we plan in the future. But what Paul is discussing here, should in no way be an “If” or an uncertainty in your life.
Before we cover what Paul’s point is, let me just say this: This verse is somewhat rhetorical, meaning that Paul is assuming the people he is writing to are already saved(Safe), and to use “If” was simply a way of convicting the conscience of any reader who had not been living in light of his new life in Christ. BUT, I have no idea if you have that new life, so to you I want to just ask the question “If you were to meet GOD tonight, what would you give Him as a reason He should let you into heaven? There is only ONE way(John 14:6), and that is through believing that Jesus is who He said He is: Lord (Romans 10:9).
What do you need salvation for??? Well, I'll tell you. Paul wrote in his letter to the churches at Rome that “All” had sinned, and fallen short of GOD’s glory (Rom.3:23), and then further explained that the only wage or payment that sin earns us is “death”(Romans 6:23), but not just any death; eternal death, ie The Lake of Fire (Revelations 21:8). Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not in love with my sin enough to be willing to pay that price, but that is precisely the decision you must make: will you choose your sin, and pay the penalty, or love GOD, and accept the substitute death of Jesus on the cross, in your place? Your choice, but eternity is a LONG time: so choose life (Deut. 30:19)
Anyway, now assuming any of you who have continued reading have already considered that decision at a specific time in your life, and indeed chose LIFE, Paul continues to speak to you about how you ought to behave. The simplest way to put it and maybe to help you remember the attitude that Paul expecting you, as a believer, to have is this: Seek, Set and Shall.
SEEK (Meaning to “ask for, or enquire after, or desire”) things above, or rather heavenly things; things that are both spiritual and eternal.
SET your affection (Originally one word meaning “to use the mind”) to search for and learn of the things that GOD desires; again, things heavenly, spiritual and eternal, but adding a negative command to it this time, Paul further describes what NOT to use your mind for: things of this earth, or temporal things.
When He SHALL appear, we SHALL appear with Him, and be with Him forever (I THess. 4:17). And John further adds this thought in his first letter saying that anyone who has the hope of Christ’s return ought to be actively purifying himself even as Christ is pure (I John 3:3)
The Point is: Our heart’s desires, and the thoughts and power of our intelligent minds ought to be preoccupied with knowing and understanding GOD’s truth and glory, not hindered and weighed down with all the routine and filth of this world.
The Truth of It: Our problems really begins when we begin to stare at the ground, so to speak: so focused of the earth, on money and work and entertainment, popularity, comfort etc., that our minds become so full of the unnecessary, the foolish, that we can’t fit any intelligent spiritual thoughts in our minds if we wanted to. Think of your heart and your mind like a bucket you use to carry drinking water in: if you needed a whole bucket of clean, pure water, you would not first kick it down the hill, into the mud, fill it with dirt and sand and grass and whatever else is just lying around, and then go get your water. That's stupid, and just doesn’t make sense, but for two reason, one of which is pretty obvious: You can’t get a bucket of clean water with a dirty bucket; but more than that, if your bucket is filled with everything under the sun, you won’t even have room for the water, not to mention if you dip your filthy nasty bucket into the well, you don’t just ruin in for yourself, but everyone else who needs that water; speaking also to the fact that our attitudes and behavior effect others around us. So CLEAR OUT all that garbage, seek the truth of GOD, use that little brain He gave you to understand and glorify Him, knowing that one day Christ, who at the moment incedes for you (Romans 8:34) , will one day judge you for the works done in your body, whether good or worthless(II Cor. 5:10) So make your works good, and count for something, but remember, it will ALWAYS begin in your mind, with your thoughts and in the heart with your desires: THat's where the fight begins.