Easter Day
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Set your minds on things that are above....
-- Colossians 3:2
Living the resurrected life as Easter people is the promise of Christianity. Life is often shaped by what is attractive to us. The mind's eye focuses on that which is beautiful because it pulls us ahead. When Paul spoke of setting our minds on things that are above, he was suggesting that we could lift our heads and see a vision of eternity. We do not turn our backs on the physical realities of life. Rather, our physical realities now serve a higher master. It is not wrong to be successful, but we need to be conscious of who our success serves. It is very easy to allow success to become an end in itself. It is not wrong to be wealthy, but we need to be careful not to allow wealth to become our master. This same reorientation of our perspective applies to all dimensions of our life. Because of the resurrection, we are free to allow compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, and most of all, love to unleash the peace of Christ in our relationships. We are liberated from the petty competition that divides and separates us. To be raised with Christ is not to be instantaneously perfect. It is to grow toward this vision of loveliness. It is to choose each day to "put to death that which is earthly" because we are no longer afraid of death. Because each day we strive to view life from the perspective of eternity, each day can become a taste of eternity.
-- Colossians 3:2
Living the resurrected life as Easter people is the promise of Christianity. Life is often shaped by what is attractive to us. The mind's eye focuses on that which is beautiful because it pulls us ahead. When Paul spoke of setting our minds on things that are above, he was suggesting that we could lift our heads and see a vision of eternity. We do not turn our backs on the physical realities of life. Rather, our physical realities now serve a higher master. It is not wrong to be successful, but we need to be conscious of who our success serves. It is very easy to allow success to become an end in itself. It is not wrong to be wealthy, but we need to be careful not to allow wealth to become our master. This same reorientation of our perspective applies to all dimensions of our life. Because of the resurrection, we are free to allow compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, and most of all, love to unleash the peace of Christ in our relationships. We are liberated from the petty competition that divides and separates us. To be raised with Christ is not to be instantaneously perfect. It is to grow toward this vision of loveliness. It is to choose each day to "put to death that which is earthly" because we are no longer afraid of death. Because each day we strive to view life from the perspective of eternity, each day can become a taste of eternity.
