Scenic Vistas - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 3:17-21,

"Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just
as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with
tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is
destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their
shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in
heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under
his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like
his glorious body."

Paul had a heart for people at this point in his life. He was a
violent man before he had his encounter with the Lord, "Even though I
was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man...", 1
Timothy 1:13. But his love for people was now evident as he wrote to
various individuals and churches as the Lord's chosen apostle to the
Gentiles. Here he speaks of his tears as he thinks of those whose
minds are "set on earthly things."

In other places he writes of setting our minds on something else. In
Colossians 3:1-4 we read, "Since, then, you have been raised with
Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at
the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly
things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with
him in glory." The writer of Hebrews tells us, "Therefore, since we
are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let
us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes
on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before
him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such
opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart."

What is it we see when we set our hearts on things above, when we set
our minds on things above, when we fix our eyes on Jesus? What is the
view like? We often hear folks tell of some wonderful vista they
observed that took their breath away, such as at the Grand Canyon, the
peaks of the Rockies in Colorado, the sunset over the Channel Islands
in southern California and the like. "You should have seen it!", "It
took my breath away!", "It was awesome!", "I've never seen anything
like it!" I am convinced the view Paul and the writer of Hebrews
speaks of surpasses them all.

Setting our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ as he is revealed in the
Scriptures brings into view what transcends any thing of beauty here
on earth. Majestic splendor that radiates from the Creator transcends
the splendor of his creation. True, the wonderful creation points to
its Creator, but within the Creator is a splendor that simply
outshines all. Setting our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ brings
into view breath-taking perfections that have a way of transforming us
simply by viewing them. I note that it is within Colossians 3 that
Paul instructs us to take off our old sinful nature and to put on the
"new man", the enablement for which he taps at the beginning of that
chapter as he tells us to set our hearts and minds on Jesus. We also
see a love in this vista, a love for each one of us that is so richly
expressed in the cross of Jesus Christ, we are told it is
transformative in our own lives if we but consider its dimensions,
Ephesians 3:14-19. So transformative, Paul tells us, we "may be filled
to the measure of all the fullness of God."

What are we looking at today? What do we have our hearts and minds set on?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com