Jesus Christ is absolutely everything that matters. Full stop.

I could just stop there.

Everything else - Everything Else - is detail only: how does all of life, in its joys and deep sorrows, connect to this one foundational fact, this one foundational Man?

Question: Why set our hearts and minds on things above and not on earthly things?

Answers:

1. Because you have been raised with Christ. We have been given new life from the dead with a resurrected King who is seated in majesty and power (3:1)
2. Because we died to this world in order to made alive to God in Jesus Christ. And we have confidence that when he returns in glory, we will be with him (3:3)

Do you know him? Are you delighted with him? Are you in awe of him? Do you find him beautiful and compelling? Do you love to call him master, boss, Lord, champion every day? Do you hail his victory, like people hail victorious Olympic athletes only more? Do you make him your role model? (so good to hear Olympic atheletes doing so this week!). Do you want to do what he is doing, follow where he is leading this week? These things encapsulate the "why" of setting your heart and mind on things above. Christians are new creatures. We - literally - died to our old self. We have been - literally - made new.

In Colossians 2 there are 3 plausibile-sounding substitutes for the good news of Jesus. Three alternatives to receiving righteousness in Christ that all sound like they might have some attractive substance. I mentioned the first in my last Colossians post - Mosaic law-keeping (summarised by circumcision) for holiness or spiritual fulness.

But there are two more in the chapter: superspirituality for fulness and aestheticism/self-denial for fulness. Let's see what the Apostle says about these.

LIVE

IN

CHRIST!

That's the prime exhortation from Colossians 2. He is amazing, the treasure and wisdom of God. 

But make no mistake, there are plenty of forces out there that will try to stop us.

Do you want to be encouraged in heart? Get to know Christ. United in love? Christ. Do want treasures of wisdom and knowledge? You only get them from Christ. Its not just that he imparts them, he is them.