Colossians2:20 3:4 The speed limits on the highway only have significance when one is in a vehicle on the highway. A "keep out" sign only has meaning if one is inclined to enter. Laws and rules define the fence around the area in which we function. If our attention is always in the center of the area, then the fence never becomes the issue. The law may say that if you steal a car you will go to jail, but if you're not a car thief you won't stay up nights worrying about being jailed for stealing cars. We do need rules and laws to help us adjust our behavior, but the thrust of what Paul is trying to say in chapter 3 is that if we will change our focus then many of our concerns will cease to be issues. Paul is talking here to those who have received eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus He writes, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heads on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Philippians 4:8 tells us, "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things." That certainly is good advice to help us to adjust the content of our thoughts, but Paul goes a step further in Colossians, "Set your heart on..." If your heart is set on doing a particular thing or going somewhere special and something comes up the last minute and makes it impossible, it usually brings great disappointment. One's life, thoughts, and actions generally revolve around and are controlled by what the head is set upon. The fact is (if Christ is our Savior) that "we are dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God." This leaves us with the task of setting our eyes on Him.

Where is Your Focus?