Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col. 3:2)
A LOT OF THINGS occupy outer space. Some of them you can see, and some you can’t. For example, scientists believe we can see only about 5 percent of the matter in the universe. The rest is made up of invisible matter, called dark matter, and a mysterious form of energy known as dark energy. The Milky Way galaxy we live in is one of billions of such galaxies. Astronomers estimate that the observable universe has more than one hundred billion galaxies. Our own Milky Way contains about three hundred billion stars.
Yet when Paul urged us to set our minds on things above and not on earthly things, he had something entirely different in view. The “things above” Paul referred to are not stars or galaxies or any tangible thing. They are the good things that characterize life in Christ—the new life we can live by faith. These are things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Interestingly, you and I will likely never see the billions upon billions of stars that exist in the cosmos. While they are real, they are not visible to the naked eye. But we can see the fruit of the Spirit displayed in our lives and in the world around us. What we set our minds on will become reality.
Choose one fruit of the Spirit and meditate on it today.
Lawrence W. Wilson is the author of A Different Kind of Crazy (WPH), coauthor of The Long Road Home (WPH), and lives near Indianapolis, Indiana.
