These four verses summarise Paul’s entire letter. Read them slowly once more. If your faith is in the risen Christ everything about you and your life has been transformed beyond imagining. Everything. 

Paul uses strong language: ‘For you died’ (v 3). The old you is no more. You are a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17)! Everything needed has been done. There is nothing lacking. The challenge now is to live in the light and freedom of that new reality. Two things must change: our heart and our mind. Our heart draws us to what we value most. That’s where we store our treasure. Our mind enables us to make sense of the world and drives how we think and act. It needs to be transformed (Romans 12:2). 

Jesus talked about putting new wine into new wineskins (Mark 2:22). That’s because the container needs to match the contents. We need to reprogramme our autopilot to a new destination: things above. In tomorrow’s reading Paul will start to unpack what that looks like in real life.

Lord, help me to keep setting my thoughts on living beyond normal with Jesus today.

These extraordinary verses assume that believers who are now identified with Christ are living in two realms simultaneously. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have died to an old way of existence though we still have to live in it. It is as though we have two passports. One is tangible with personal details and an expiry date – a key identification document for normal living. The other passport involves a completely different way of living with Jesus in his kingdom. As The Message puts it: ‘Your new life, which is your real life – even though invisible to spectators – is with Christ in God’ (v 3). As citizens of Jesus’ kingdom we can live beyond normal with no expiry date (v 4). 

The implications of this second identity are far-reaching (as the rest of the chapter shows), but first God challenges our daily thought processes, because living normally all too easily pulls us downward into daily routines of behaviour and relationships. To counter this default behaviour we must deliberately focus thought upwards. The verb’s tense keep on setting (vs 1,2) indicates that it is not a once-for-all command but is continuous – a daily focusing of our total thinking. Continually to set your heart on things above (v 1) is not some vaguely mystical exercise but a focus on Christ seated at the right hand of God, on his majesty and power – for he is always interceding for us, enabling us to live each day beyond normal. His love and direction never flag when we seek him. Setting your mind on things above, not on earthly things (v 2) reminds us not to drift downward into the normal stuff of life without God’s bigger perspective. 

The prayer at the top of this page is displayed in my bathroom, where it jolts me every morning. Could you consider such a daily reminder to check your thoughts?