We can continually progress toward the powerful resurrection living that the Word of God promises us. Notice the bold and challenging statement Paul makes to the Colossian church: “If indeed you have experienced God’s resurrection power, then live a resurrection life” (Colossians 3:1 Ben Campbell Johnson). This bold statement is not written exclusively to the Colossians, it was written to us also.
It’s clear that God doesn’t intend for us to begin our Christian lives with the power that raised Christ from the dead, only to settle into a powerless life of meaningless routine. But can we truthfully say we are experiencing the power of a resurrected life on a daily basis?
Notice this same verse from the New Living Translation: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power.”
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words translates the word Christ as christos, meaning “anointed.” In view of this definition, we could safely say that we are to set our sights on the Anointed One and His anointing.
Although many people would say they have been raised to new life, not everyone would agree that he or she experiences the power of a resurrected life day by day. Why is that? One reason is that they haven’t “set their sights on the realities of heaven” where the anointing abides.
Recently I discovered what it means to “set your sights.” I was given a new rifle, but before I could use it, I had to take it to the rifle range and “set the sight” on the scope so I would be sure to hit my target. After aiming at the bull’s eye and firing, I noticed that the bullet hit a little high and to the left of the bull’s eye. This meant that in order to hit my target, I needed to make an adjustment on the scope. Once the adjustment was made, every time I fired a round, I hit nearly the same spot every time, all within the bull’s eye!
As Christians, we are instructed by the Apostle Paul to “set our sights” on a very specific target: Heaven. This isn’t referring to our heavenly home after we leave this earth, because in the very next verse Paul instructs us not to think only about things down here on earth. When we leave this earth and move to Heaven, we definitely won’t be consumed with thoughts of things down on the earth! No, Paul is telling us to set our sights on the supply or the blessings that are laid up for us in Heaven that we are to use while we’re on the earth.
When we set our sights too low we can be sure that we won’t live in the blessings God intended for us. However, when we “set our sights” on the things that God has prepared for us, we can be sure that we will soon possess them!
So set your sights on the promises of God today!
