Col. 3:1-11
3 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. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[c] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[d] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Paul urges us to “set our sights on the realities of heaven.” We are to think about the things of heaven, not of the earth. It’s interesting that Paul refers to the “realities of heaven.” What are the realities of heaven that I can hold on to here in this life? Primarily, it’s the reality that I will see Jesus, I will know him, and I will be known by him–literally!
In addition, I will have total access to the Father–the king of the universe. Everything I struggle with here–my faith in things unseen especially–will become a reality there. No faith needed! Paul is saying that not only will Heaven be my home territory at some future point, it is to be my home territory even now. So I am not to be overly concerned with “the things of the earth.” The basic reality I am to focus on is knowing Christ Jesus and becoming more like him!