Aging gracefully - set our hearts on things above

A phrase my grandma used to use was that a person "had his/her heart set on it." She meant that there was something that person wanted. A lot. They thought about it all the time. They loved to talk about it. Whatever it was, it commanded their thoughts a great deal of the time. They had their heart set on it. It could be an achievement they were working toward. It could be a goal they hoped to reach. It could be a daydream they hoped would come true. Whatever it was, it was important to them.

Let me change gears a bit. Bear with me.

Did you ever grow crystals as a child? Ever do a "kitchen science project"? Since our kiddos were homeschooled, we did a bunch of those. (Grin) Crystals are fun and really easy. First, you choose epsom salts, or borax, or maybe sugar or alum. Then you add water to a saucepan, and carefully follow the directions of how much of your chosen ingredient to put in the water. No matter which one you choose, you want to add what seems like a lot of it! Why? You want a super-saturated solution . . . that means that you are warming the water, and it allows you to force even more of the epsom salt or alum to dissolve. Next, you are going to allow the cooling water to evaporate (sometimes you will suspend a "seed" crystal in the solution to jump start the process. As the water cools and evaporates, crystals will form. In the kids' eyes, the water was no longer wanted. It's importance waned, and the much-desired crystals were growing.

Growing older can be compared to our crystal growing. We try to supersaturate ourselves with what's important when we are younger; we cram all of the Bible study and discipling and service as we can. But unfortunately, this world crams things into our lives, as well. Some important at the time, and some trivial. But in spite of the importance or insignificance, our lives do become super saturated with "stuff." 

Now, as we become older the less important things do seem to evaporate away. Some quickly, and some gradually. Beautiful "crystals" are revealed as the unimportant things are stripped away.  Especially as we become less able to drive about or be as active as we used to be, we begin to be more "heavenly minded" than "earthly minded."  We begin to focus much more on the eternal than on the temporary....

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (II Corinthians 4:18)

To "set our hearts on things above" is to meditate on heaven where Christ is. What we call the "Lord's Prayer" was given to us by our Savior, and the very first line speaks of "Our Father, Who art in heaven." The focus of our lives should be our God, His Son, and His kingdom and will.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)

Setting our hearts on things above also means to meditate on our future eternal life. This is OK - this is not an escape from the problems we face "down here" but a means of coping with them!  What we face is nothing compared to what our Savior faced, but He endured and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Setting our hearts on things above means to think about the promises of Christ. What a blessing that our Bibles are filled with these promises. Christ has promised to give us freely His peace, joy, healing, and protection. He has assured us that He will never leave us. And He is not going to change His mind; these promises are ones He will keep.

God is not human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)

Remember when Abraham and Lot had to separate? Their flocks and herds had become so large that they needed to go in different directions, so that their animals would have enough water and grazing. They were both rich. Lot used the "first dibs" that Abraham graciously extended to him to choose the plain of Jordan - it was well watered from one end to the other. Lot was earthly minded. Abraham was heavenly minded - he trusted God for his portion and the direction that he should move in. 

Lot eventually lost everything he had. I guess that shows us that those who seek the things of this world are going to come up empty handed! Focusing our thoughts and our hearts on heavenly things leads to faith and blessings.

In the twelfth chapter of Luke's gospel, there's a famous parable of the "rich fool."  You remember him, right? Well, he wasn't foolish because his fields produced such a bumper crop. That just meant he was a good farmer. And he wasn't foolish because he was planning for the future and decided to build bigger barns. He was a fool because he didn't think of his bountiful harvest as a blessing from God. He believed that a full barn was the guarantee for a full, happy, and satisfying life. Today, people believe that a large house, a new model car, and fancy clothes will bring that happy and satisfying life. Those things won't last very long. In contrast, a heart overflowing with love toward God and kindness toward others will endure forever!

Planning for retirement is important. Neglecting to plan for life after death is disastrous. And like we discussed before, if we accumulate wealth only to enrich ourselves, and don't concern ourselves with helping others, we will enter heaven empty handed. Giving to God adds a richness to our lives. Christ blesses us in order to make us a blessing to others. This is how to experience a joy that money cannot buy. There may be people in heaven whose needs we met, and whose lives we touched with the gospel.

Thinking about living in heaven? You bet! I've got my heart set on it!