"their mind is on earthly things. but our citizenship is in heaven" (verses 19-20).
in this passage, paul describes those who "live as enemies of the cross of Christ" (v 18). what is the definition of such an enemy? paul defines them as those whose "mind is on earthly things".
have we ever thought of it that way: that anyone whose mind is predominantly on "earthly things" is an "enemy of the cross of Christ?" we think of blasphemers, murderers, unbelievers as enemies of Christ, yes, but not those whose minds are on "earthly things". suddenly we are forced to adjust our mental picture of the "enemies of Christ" to a much wider scale, maybe even to include ourselves.
paul then makes a distinction between the "enemies of Christ", and those whose "citizenship is in heaven". if the distinguishing mark of the enemy of Christ is a mind set on earthly things, then one of the distinguishing marks of the elect is that they "eagerly await" the second coming of Jesus Christ.
is there a deep, genuine, heartfelt longing for the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His lordship in this world and in our lives? or are we indifferent, even perhaps fearful of the thought? if our citizenship is in heaven, and we truly understand this, then we will invest our lives for eternity. if our minds are "on earthly things" then we will invest our lives for the present world. paul's distinction does not allow us to have it both ways.
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4 comments:
Thank u for your reflection smn :-)
The thought of being an enemy of the cross is scary but undeniable real if we continue to live our lives for earthly things.
Thank you Dulla for your reflection. We need to be constantly reminded of the fact that we don't belong here. Many places in the Bible remind us of such truth. Yet we think and act as if we were here to stay for a long time. 'But our citizenship is in Heaven...'(v20) I don't think that the verse is saying we should only long for the day of return home and neglecting life on this earth. But we shouldn't put all our hope and trust in the things will be perishable and temporary. But 'press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ.'(v14) Live our lives in the light of eternal.
Thank you, Dulla smn!
I felt like I was reading a call to band together when I read this passage. In the beginning, Paul's telling us that we can't live for Christ on our own, but we need to do it together as one body. Then he goes and reminds us of how treacherous this world is and who Christ is to us again. Like I said before it's sounds like a call of arms to his brothers and sisters.
Darla smn, you're right in that being an enemy of the cross of Christ has more of a subtle implications that I would never have not identified myself as such until I read this passage. What caught my attention was in v.19 "...their glory is in their shame". I was just as puzzled with this phrase as having to relate to being an enemy of the cross but soon realized that this society does glorify most if not all of the 7 deadly sins. Too often we see powerful people put on pedestals, without giving much thought on the greed and hunger for power that person(s) possessed -or was possessed by. Sex appeal is an undeniable idol that permits lust to infiltrate every mind. Pride, often mascaraing as 'confidence' is deadly especially because it undermines any conviction of wrongs committed or of vises exhibited.
And, I'm sure we can all relate to vanity. Beauty is highly praised as if it's a virtue and the desire to be beautiful fuels a multi-billion dollar industry across the globe. Why live for such things? Perhaps the world just doesn't know any better. I for one, don't have such an excuse to lean on. And though I would dare say that I don't live to glory in what I should be ashamed of, I cannot deny my that I fall for these same sins. Yet, if I do continue falling deeper into these sins, I see how it would make me an enemy of the cross of Christ. For that is where He died to absolve these sins committed.
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