There are lots of things that we can “set”. For example, if we were making jelly, it will take time to set. It also takes time for concrete to set and become hard. We can set our clocks and watches to the correct time. We can also play a set of tennis or we can set the ball playing volleyball. Some people enjoy watching the sun set with its magnificent colours.
From these examples, we can think about something “setting” as becoming firm, or adjusting in some way, reaching completion or a goal. A dictionary definition can be “to put something in a particular place or position” or “to establish or decide something”.
While we can set lots of different things, this week’s New Testament reading, Colossians 3:1-11, challenges us to think about how we set our minds. Paul encourages us to “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (v 2 NIV). We might understand Paul telling us to make our minds firm like jelly or concrete, or to adjust our thinking like we might set a clock or watch. We might also think he wants us to put our minds “in a particular place or position” or “to establish or decide something” in our thinking.
This leads us to think about what people call a mindset. This is a way of thinking which shapes our attitudes and is reflected in our behaviours. For example, people talk about the difference between a “fixed mindset” and a “growth mindset”. People with a fixed mindset usually try to avoid making mistakes, can be closed to new ideas, assume that the way things are is good enough, and can often give up easily. People with a growth mindset however look to try new things, learn from their mistakes, value feedback from others, seek to improve with practice, and tend not to give up, even when something is hard. Whatever mindset we might have, it describes our attitudes and ways of thinking which shape the way we approach various situations we face in life and what we do in those situations.
Talking about mindsets is important because we all have a particular mindset that we carry with us. Our mindsets shape whether we engage with different things in our lives in positive or negative ways. However, our mindsets aren’t fixed. Our mindsets can change, and when they do, our attitudes and behaviours can also change.
Paul encourages us as followers of Jesus to set our minds on things above (v2 NIV) and have what we can call a resurrection mindset. When our minds are set on the things of this world, our attitudes and behaviours are shaped by what we experience in this life and can lead us to see things in negative ways. Having a worldly mindset can lead to us think that our identities and value are determined by what we do or by what other people think about us. A worldly mindset teaches us to focus on ourselves and to get as much as we can, even if it is at the expense of others. When we set our minds on earthly things, we can spend our whole lives trying to prove ourselves by what we do, earn other people’s approval, find validity or value in our own efforts or achievements, or look for significance in things that don’t last.
Having a resurrection mindset, however, means looking for our sense of identity, value, meaning and purpose not in the things of this world, but in the resurrection of Jesus. A resurrection mindset helps us find everything we need for a healthy life which is full of meaning and purpose in Jesus. It tells us that we have been raised with Christ through faith so we can find everything we’re looking for in him. We don’t need to prove ourselves to other people or try to earn their approval because God has already approved of us as his children whom he loves and with whom he is pleased because Christ lives in us through faith. A resurrection mindset tells us that when everything in this world which can wear us down, devalue us or make us question ourselves are gone, we will still be standing strong in the new life of Jesus. A resurrection mindset assures us that God values us, embraces us, welcomes us and will provide us with everything we need for our bodies, minds and spirits in this life and the next. It tells us that Jesus meets us in our hurts, uncertainties and struggles to carry us through them and bring us to a place of peace and joy in his resurrection life.
A resurrection mindset isn’t about trying to escape the challenges or hardships of life. Instead, it gives us a new way of seeing our lives in this world. Like a growth mindset can help us see challenges in a more positive way than a fixed mindset, a resurrection mindset helps to find God’s presence in the struggles and suffering of this life as he meets us in Jesus and promises to carry us through to something better. That is why Paul writes that our lives are “now hidden with Christ in God” (v3 NIV). There are times in our lives when it will seem like we are living something very different from the resurrection life of Jesus. But that is often where we find God and his resurrection power. We can trust that Jesus meets us in the darkness and loneliness of Easter Saturday to raise us up again. We can look forward in hope to what God will do for us in the risen Christ, and that hope will sustain us through all the challenges, uncertainties and struggles that we might face.
A resurrection mindset helps us see our lives in this world through the eyes and from the perspective of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus. It gives us a new attitude with which we can face whatever comes our way. It tells us that God is using the events of our lives to make himself known to us and teach us to trust him in all situations as he works through all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). With a resurrection mindset we can see how God is working through us to bring his saving love to the people around us in even the most challenging and painful things that happen to us, because we trust that God is working in and through all things in his resurrection power.
It’s worth thinking about our mindsets and how our mindset shapes our attitudes and behaviours, for better or for worse. Are our minds set on the things of this world? Or are we open to adopting a resurrection mindset by setting our hearts and minds on the risen Jesus so we can find everything we need for our hearts, minds and bodies in him? In his resurrection, Jesus overcame everything in this world which might try to rob life from us. By setting our minds on things above where he reigns over all of heaven and earth, we can find a resurrection mindset which keeps us united with Jesus in his resurrection power to make us and all things new until the time that we share in his glory for eternity.
More to think about or discuss:
- What are some things you can set? What do you think it means to set something? What does that tell you about what it means to have a particular mindset?
- Do you tend to set your mind on the things of this world or on the resurrection of Jesus? How might setting your mind on Jesus’ resurrection help you see the things of this life in a different way?
- How might you be able to bring a resurrection mindset into different aspects of your life? How can we help you grow in and explore the difference a resurrection mindset can make in your attitudes and behaviours?
Pastor Eugene Online 
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