“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” -Colossians 3:2 (ESV)
If we want to experience the will of God on earth as it is in Heaven, we must have the mind of Christ. Our way of thinking must go beyond what we see in the natural. For instance, two fish plus five loaves equal over 5000, not seven; this is Heaven’s way of thinking. Paul tells us that we have been raised to live with Christ, so we must think about the things of Heaven, not Earth (Colossians 3:1-3). Heaven has peace, joy, wholeness, and freedom. Sickness, sadness, or purposelessness do not exist there. Adopting Heaven’s thinking is the only way to experience the reality of God’s kingdom here on earth.
Without a kingdom mindset, we will only live in a realm of theory, not experience. We can’t remain the same after becoming God’s child and knowing Him. We must let the kingdom’s culture shape the way we live. Matthew tells the story of two blind men who had heard about Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons. Hearing these things caused their faith to come alive and made them think much higher than their reality: they realized they didn’t need to be blind any longer. The impossible was no longer impossible, so they followed Jesus and cried out for His touch. Jesus heard their cries and asked them, “Do you believe I can do this?” They said, “Yes, Lord; we believe You can open our eyes.” Then, Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” Their eyes were opened instantly (Matthew 9:27-30).
What do you want to become? Just a nice Christian? Just a mediocre, complacent, ordinary person? God didn’t create us to be average. He placed us on earth to surpass and excel beyond the usual, to shift the atmosphere, and to show the world what Heaven looks like. Once we grasp this concept, we can move from average to extraordinary. The barriers of complacency get ripped away as the Spirit of God invades our space. We become unrecognizable.
As a little girl, I was always attracted to the miraculous stories about the heroes of faith. I found myself daydreaming of becoming just like them. I saw myself as a fearless Supergirl who loved to help the poor and the hopeless. I wanted to become a great warrior to fight and drive out the demons from my town. I dreamed of becoming an anointed gospel teacher, even though the culture wouldn’t permit me to do that. However, those imaginative seeds within my heart grew stronger and stronger each day until I verbalized them and acted on them. I have seen blind eyes opened, withered hands restored, tumors disappear, murderers’ lives saved and transformed by Jesus, and many more lives changed than anyone could have imagined possible. With God, nothing is impossible.
We are called to expand the kingdom’s territory and take charge of the earth. God has given us the authority and power to transform the world around us. Our job is to create and shape a kingdom culture lifestyle as we live on earth. Transforming and renewing our minds is the path to demonstrating Heaven’s lifestyle here on Earth. Today, God invites you to rise higher in your thinking as you bring forth change by impacting your family, church, and community. For God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, far beyond anything we can imagine (Isaiah 55:9).