Christ tells us that where our treasure is, you’ll find our heart as well (Luke 12:34). Additionally, you’ll usually find that where your heart is, that is where your thoughts are centered. Just like our hearts are a gateway to what we value, so our thoughts are a gateway to what is occuping our hearts.
For the Christian, therefore, the question is whether the things that are consuming our thoughts are reflective of our Savior’s heart. Since it should be our desire to increasingly become more like Him, our thoughts should be focused on the things that He valued, the things that were important to Him. Reading the Gospels it is easy to see that one of the things that was important to Him was the “kingdom of heaven.” Parable after parable had this as the object. Even Jesus’ instructive prayer pleaded with the Father for the coming of His future reign. If this is where our Savior’s heart lies, shouldn’t it be the focus of our thoughts as well?
As John Owen wrote in The Grace & Duty of Being Spiritually Minded, “We all profess that we are bound for heaven, immortality, and glory; but is it any evidence we really design it, if all our thoughts are consumed about the trifles of this world, which we must leave behind us, and if we have only occasional thoughts of things above?”
In other words, if our thoughts are focused on the inconveniences and struggles of today, this is a pretty good indication that this is what we think is important. However, if what we think is important is the reign and glory of our Eternal King, then this should be where our thoughts are centered as well.
Things are going to happen in this world that matter; we can’t escape that fact. However, when things do happen we can see them through the prism of Eternity and, like our Savior, keep our thoughts focused on the glory that is to come.
What do you think? How do you keep your thoughts on the “things above’?