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Colossians 3:2
2 Set your affection [phroneo] on things above, [ano] not [me] on things on [epi] the earth. [ge] KJV-Interlinear
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. NASB
What you focus your thoughts on, so goes your life. What you think is what you are.
As far as life goes, you need to realize that this life here on this earth, is temporary. Unfortunately most folks live their lives, as though this is the only option before them.
With total disregard for their spiritual life, people, though aware of God, of religion, of an afterlife and so forth, seem to disregard it, or treat it as some form of optional thing that they can or may not incorporate within their daily life.
Priorities of ones temporal life push back the priorities of ones spiritual life. After all, we receive near immediate feedback on this life, and the spiritual life seems to be so ambiguous and unresponsive.
In this life, we can see an outcome for an education. We can see an outcome (a paycheck) from working a couple of weeks. We can see the days of the week and plan for the weekend, for the summer, for something out in front of us. We can go shopping, and get things, do things, have hobbies, and all the things that seem to fulfill our wants and needs.
And with the spiritual life, those things are absent.
However, God trains us through warnings and instruction. We can focus on our temporal life, but we learn that all of the temporal activities and things, never generate a level of satisfaction or contentment. There is always going to be something else needed or wanted.
So you bought yourself a new car or camera or computer, something that you have wanted for a long time. Then wait a year or five years, and see what is out there to replace it. Something better. Your gadget or clothes or whatever it is that you pursue, will eventually be replaced with something better. Even social outings end up with new acquaintances that change your mind or entice you into looking for greener pastures.
The temporal world excites the human senses. But those are emotions only.
The spiritual life is designed to transform the thinking of your mind. It is designed to help you realize the inadequacies of the temporal life, and to get you to prepare for your longer life span – eternity.
Before you were born, you had no choice as to what your life would be like, where you would live, who you would know, what you would have, etc.
But now that you are alive in this world, you have the opportunity to predefine your eternal future. You do not have to be born again into eternal poverty, or into eternal inadequacies, into eternal inabilities. Review your Parables of Christ study.
In heaven there will be inequalities, based on the level of spiritual growth, or lack of it, among folks.
Yes, everyone who has believed in Christ will be in heaven, but there will be an evaluation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. If everyone were going to be the same, then what purpose would this evaluation have?
In heaven everyone will receive rewards, promotions, privileges, blessings, in accordance with their spiritual growth and production which was attained in this life.
There will be the bottom level of blessing for every believer, and then there will be the additional blessings for those who have advanced in their spiritual lives, and then there will be the more advanced blessing packages for those who have advanced to spiritual maturity and hold it.
That biggest of the blessing packages, is available to everyone, but only if you pursue your spiritual life in accordance with Gods mandates.
What are those blessings? Well in everything spiritual, there is an example (a parable) that can be found in this world, from which you can compare and get some idea as to what God has waiting for you.
Look at the world population. There are the dirt poor, the poor, the lower classes, the middle classes, the upper classes, and the filthy rich and then there is the wealthy group. And how many folks are in each group?
That is easy to figure out. The dirt poor group is the largest group and the wealthy group is the smallest group. Where would you like to be? And most folks would obviously love to be in the wealthy group.
And that is exactly what awaits you in heaven, if, and this is a big if, if you pursue your spiritual life.
This life, this world, this planet earth, this human history, is all going to come to an end. For you, your end will be your physical death.
You will never save the planet. You will never cure the diseases. You will never solve mans problems, whatever they are. And this doesn’t mean that you can’t try to work at alleviating some of these things to help some folks, but your priority should be on not fixing the devils world, in order to promote evil, which is what that really is, but to help in life, such that you and others can come to Christ, and doctrine, and their own spiritual future.
Because the spiritual future is where the real prosperity and solutions are to be found.
When you begin to think about Christ and about your Bible instruction, when you begin to memorize verses, and pray on a regular basis, when you begin to spend time in your mind about what life and your future really is, then you have begun to grow up.
The next step is to become responsible to Gods expectations of you, and then incorporate them into your daily life. And, then keep on doing that, for the rest of your life.
