Title: Thinking Now and Then… Here and There
Text: Colossians 3:1-4 (3:1-15)
Thesis: God’s perspective compels us to think now and then in time and here and there in space.
Series Title: How to Treat People at Home and at Church… Walking Hand-in-Hand When We Don’t See Eye-to-Eye.
Introduction
Over a hundred years ago investigative journalism reporting was responsible for exposing the underbelly of American politics, business and industry. The reporting was such that our government responded by enacting laws like the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Meat Inspection Act. Child Labor laws were adopted. Policies for the conservation of natural resources and protection of public lands were adopted. Workmen’s Compensation laws were enacted. Labor laws for women were adopted and so on…
President Theodore Roosevelt had been on the side of the investigative reporters. He had personally benefited from their work and was able work with Congress to accomplish a number of important reforms. But then Cosmopolitan began a series of articles entitled The Treason of the Senate, it was too much for the President. So he gave a speech condemning the investigative journalists as “muckrakers.”
Muck is a term that originally described soft, moist, farmyard manure. It would also include anything slimy or filthy dirty or gunky. People who did mucking used a muck rake to clear out the filth. So those who set about searching out and publicly exposing prominent individuals in politics, the financial business or industry, i.e., “muck-a-mucks,” were called muckrakers.
In his famous speech President Roosevelt likened investigative reporters to the muckraker in Pilgrim’s Progress “who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who would neither look up nor regarded the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth on the floor.”
Bunyan summarized the tragedy: “There stood One over his head with a celestial crown in His hand, and proffered him (offered to trade him) that crown for his muck rake; but the man never looked up…”
I think the image of the muckraker who could look no way but downward and continued his mucking oblivious to the celestial crown being offered him is not unlike Christians today who can look no way but downward.
The text today is a call to those of us who look no way but downward, continuing our mucking in the muck of this world. As Christians we are challenged to lift our sights to envision the reality of what it means to be in Christ.
The first thing we need to do is:
I. Lift Our Eyes to See Our New Identity
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in honor at God’s right hand. Colossians 3:1
A. [First] See who you are in Christ.
The imagery of baptism by immersion is a powerful example of our identity with Christ. When we were joined with Christ in baptism, we joined him in his death. For we died and were buried with him in baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. Romans 6:1-5
Our identity is wrapped up in and around Christ.
• When Jesus died, we died! We were spiritually dead in our sins…
• When Jesus rose, we rose! We are now spiritually alive in Christ.
In Ephesians 2 we read of how before becoming followers of Christ, we were dead in our sins. We used to live in sin like the rest of the world… but God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead in sin, he gave us new life when he raised Christ from the dead. And now we are his workmanship or his masterpieces or his restoration projects with a glorious hope.
I sometimes dream about buying a castle. I was kind of interested in the Saudi prince’s ranch home in Aspen but the 49 million dollar thing kind of put me off. I did see an interesting ad for a starter castle in England described as having handcrafted masonry, lots of bedrooms. Priced to move. Needs plumbing.
I also read an ad from the State of Saxony in eastern Germany. They have a dozen castles for sale and each is priced at like one U.S. dollar. However, these are historic structures that are in advanced stages of disrepair so buyers must restore them to their original grandeur which could run from $7 million to $60 million per castle.
Perhaps we might think of ourselves as fixer-upper people… once we were in advanced stages of disrepair but now we are being restored to a state of grandeur.
Our text begins, “Since we 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.”
In other words, just as you identify yourself in Christ’s death… now identify yourself in Christ’s life. Just as you saw yourself in the grave, now see yourself in the grandeur of heaven.
Having seen who you are in Christ you can now see your new hope in Christ.
B. See your new hope
I confess I am not necessarily a fan of the imagery of streets of gold, bejeweled city walls and pearly gates. I’m not a fan of things gaudy and ornate. Opulence does not ring my bell; but the bible says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:9
I think it is not so much that we must have some vivid images of heaven in mind, but that we be assured that what we have set our sights on is there and very real. What we know for certain is that God is there. What we know for certain is that Jesus Christ is seated in a place of honor at God’s right hand. And if our identity is indeed wrapped up in Christ… eternal life in heaven with Christ is the hope we set our sights on.
The second thing we need to do is:
II. Lift Our Thoughts to See With a New Perspective
Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For your real life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:2-3
This is really an interesting text. Have you ever thought about what you think about?
Based on the number of email forwards I receive I get the distinct impression that there is considerable thought being given to “how bad things are.” Political rancor runs deep in our country and is fortunately still short of the violence and hatred elsewhere.
Just when I think we’ve been the policeman for the world long enough, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces commit another horrific crime against humanity.
The Associated Press reported that when UN observers were finally permitted to enter a burned out village they “could smell the stench of burned corpses and saw body parts scattered around the farming hamlet.” If I recall correctly, 80 men, women and children were massacred… (Diaa Hadid and Zeina Karam, UN team sees massacre site in Syrian village, AP, news.yahoo.com)
I’m as guilty, if not more so, than the next guy. I read the newspaper. I read the weekly periodicals. I read The Daily Beast and Slate. (And sometimes I read The Onion for perspective.)
There is plenty of bad to go around, but I suspect for every person whose thoughts are fixed on muckraking in the badness of this life there are a dozen who are muckraking in the busyness of this life. Badness and busyness are both equally capably of distracting us from an upward look.
Illustration: In Luke 14 Jesus told a parable about the Kingdom of God. He likened the Kingdom of God to a great banquet a man prepared. He sent his servants out to invite the guests to his feast. And one after another, each began to make excuses for why they could not attend. One had just closed on a real estate deal and wanted to go check out his new property. Another had just purchased a pair of oxen and wanted to go see how they plowed. And another said he had just gotten married and now, having a wife, he could not come.
Badness or busyness… both have a way of keeping us preoccupied with the here and now, giving little thought to then and there.
In that we live in the here and now it is more than just a little difficult to lift our thoughts. But that is what God wants us to do. God wants for us to elevate our thinking.
A. Think about [set your mind on] things of heaven [things above]
What does it mean to think about things of heaven?
Does it mean try to imagine what it is like in heaven? Does it mean we try to imagine, as artists sometimes portray, pudgy little angels hovering about? Does it mean we look forward to seeing our childhood pets? Does it mean we can imagine what it will be like to be physically well and fit? Does it mean thinking about reunions with our loved ones? Does it mean we think about getting to try out for heavens chancel choir? Does it mean imagining getting in a few celebrity sightings… maybe even what it would be like to bump into Jesus at the market?
What does it mean to not think about things of earth?
B. [Do not] Think about [set your minds on]things of earth [earthly things].
Does not thinking about earthly things mean I no longer give thought to the fact that I don’t like it when the neighbors cut across and ride their bikes across the lawn I am trying to coax back from the dead? Does it mean I don’t give another thought to paying my bills? Does it mean I don’t need to be thinking about going on vacation? Does it mean we are not to think about things like wealth, influence, power and pleasure?
The bible says that the reason we are to think about the things of heaven and not so much about the things of earth is because we are dead to this life and our lives are now hidden in Christ.
When we are dead to something we can walk away from it without looking back. My thought is that thinking about things of heaven and not thinking about earthly things is about keeping things in perspective. This is about being able to see things as they are and recognize what things are of ultimate value. I think keeping things in perspective is to make sure our hearts affections are not ultimately earthly.
I think the most vivid example of the difference between being earthly minded and heavenly minded is to examine two Middle Eastern grave sites.
The first is the tomb of King Tut. Inside precious metal and blue porcelain cover the walls. The mummy is enclosed in a beautifully inscribed, gold-covered sarcophagus. The tomb is supplied with all the things necessary to see the king into the next life.
The other grave site is an empty, rock-hewn tomb.
We live this life. We love this life. We enjoy this life. We are engaged in this life. But that’s what it is. This life. And when the time comes we can walk away from it without looking back because we have our sights set on our eternal hope.
The third thing we need to do is:
III. Lift Our Hope to Embrace a New Promise
And when Christ, who is your life (because we are hidden in him), is revealed to the whole world, you will share in his glory (appear with him in glory)! Colossians 3:4
A. When we are in Christ we are securely hidden in him.
• We are inseparable or one with Christ in our past.
• We are inseparable or one with Christ in our present.
• We are inseparable or one with Christ in our future.
Where do you put something if you want to keep it safe? Where do you put something you wish to be absolutely certain that it will be kept safe? In a sock in your underwear drawer? In a pizza box in the freezer? Under your mattress? I once knew a man who had fighting roosters and pit bulls who hid his drugs and his money in the nests of the roosters and in his dog houses… no one in their right mind is going to reach into a fighting roosters coop or stick his head into a fighting pit bulls dog house. Of course the safest of all places to keep your stuff is in the ground but the problem with that is remembering where you buried it.
When God says we are hidden in Christ we are securely kept and we know and God knows exactly where we are. The logic follows that as we are hidden in Christ we will also be revealed in Christ.
B. When we are in Christ we will share in Christ’s glory
There are several words in Scripture that are used to describe the coming of Christ:
The word used in our text is the word “phaneroo” which implies a glorious display like 4th of July Fireworks over the Boston Harbor. It is like a thunderous military jet flyover. It means that when Christ comes we will share in all his glory. I don’t know what that means other than that it means Jesus will appear in a big way… like with the commanding shout of the archangel, the trumpet call of God, the resurrection of the dead and the ascension of the living to meet Christ in the clouds kind of big way. This is not an undercover of darkness, stealthy, sneaking into town coming. This is one of those “every eye will see and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” comings and what is not apparent about the followers of Christ now, will be then!
The idea at this point is there is more to life than meets the eye and there is more to us that meets the eye…
Conclusion
So what does this have to do with learning to walk hand in hand when we don’t see eye to eye in our homes or in our faith community?
It is because we now have a new identity in Christ that we have a new perspective that sees life as now and then and here and there, so we live into who we are and where we are going.
May we have the good sense to not be like the man “who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who would neither look up nor regarded the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth on the floor.”
