Live Above The Worldly Line

Live Above the Worldly Line

Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (ESV)

It is obvious from the Scripture we just read together that God desires us to focus our thoughts and therefore our minds on the eternal and not the worldly. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”.

In order to bring this concept into sharper focus, we will briefly spend some time on various “natural lines” or separations that God has placed in creation.

In the book of Genesis we see multiple separations that God perfectly orchestrated.

Genesis 1: 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. (NIV)

Genesis 1: 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. (NIV)

Genesis 1: 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years (NIV)

In addition to the major separations God shares with us in His word, we often observe or know of other separations or natural lines that God has put in place. Let me share a few with you…

Tree Line - “The tree line or timberline is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. Beyond the tree line, they are unable to grow because of inappropriate environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, insufficient air pressure, or lack of moisture).

At the tree line, tree growth is often very stunted, with the last trees forming low, densely matted bushes. If it is caused by wind, it is known as krummholz formation, from the German for ’twisted wood’.

The tree line, like many other natural lines (lake boundaries, for example), appears well-defined from a distance, but upon sufficiently close inspection, it is a gradual transition. Trees grow shorter towards the inhospitable climate until they simply stop growing.” (Wikipedia)

God set the conditions and tree lines are formed. Because Tree Lines are visible they are very easy to see and locate.

Frost Line – “The frost line—also known as frost depth or freezing depth—is most commonly the depth that the groundwater in soil is expected to freeze. The frost depth depends on the climatic conditions of an area, the heat transfer properties of the soil and adjacent materials, and on nearby heat sources.” (Wikipedia)

Here in Florida, we sometimes experience frost, but our neighbors to the north have a much better understanding of the significance of a frost line (frozen pipes, burial problems, etc.).

Animal and reptiles are aware of frost lines, etc., God programed wildlife to hibernate from temperature extremes such as frost lines for their protection and preservation.

This is what the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says about snakes and their winter preparation – “During the cold winter months, you won’t find snakes above ground. Because snakes are cold-blooded animals, their body temperature warms and cools with outside air. To keep from freezing, snakes look for a place to hibernate below the frost line. They look for a rock crevice, an ant mound, or a tunnel made by a burrowing animal. The winter den is called a hi•ber•nac•u•lum . Generations of snakes return to the same hibernaculum year after year”.

Once again we learn, God set the conditions and frost lines are formed. Since frost depth depends on climatic conditions, heat transfer properties of the soil, adjacent materials, and nearby heat sources the depth of the freeze lines will vary, but they are real and verifyable with much effort.

Another line has been called:

Snake Line

Above the Snake Line

Russell H. Conwell

From The American Pulpit, edited by Charles Clayton Morrison, Chicago: The Christian Century Press, 1925.

There is, “an old tradition concerning the Hampshire highlands of the

Berkshire hills of Massachusetts. In one of his letters the great poet, William Cullen Bryant, who so loved the Berkshire Hills, mentioned the fact that when the hills were first occupied by settlers, they found that down in the valleys were very dangerous serpents. The rattlesnake was there, the poisonous adder was there, the copperhead was there. In order to escape these serpents, they built their residences upon the hills. Ancient tradition related that there was a “snake line” above which no poisonous snake ever crept. If a person built above an elevation of about twelve hundred feet above the sea level, no poisonous serpents ever bit his children, or destroyed his property, or endangered his life. But if he built in the valley, he was subject to these deathly dangers. In the old times when the country was settled, every person who approached was advised to build his house “above the snake line.”