The latter part of Colossians is very important. Let’s read Colossians 3:3-4, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” It’s very important for us to enjoy Christ, who is our life. The Lord is in glory, but He also lives in our heart. We need both of these truths to overcome all things. This is the road to victory.
First and foremost, we must guard our mind. Not only are we guarding our mind to avoid bad thoughts, but so our mind can continuously enjoy the Lord in heaven. David said his soul was satisfied with fat and rich food when he remembered the Lord. (Psalm 63:5) When we think of the Lord, we do not simply think of Him with our brain. Instead, we love Him from our heart and have love interflow with Him. Actually, we are living with Him and our love grows deeper and deeper.
The phrase “Christ who is our life” speaks to the fact that He lives in us. However, it doesn’t mean that He’s living and we’re not. Instead, He is in our spirit and becomes the hope of glory. He provides for us from within us, helps us in all aspects, and satisfies all our spiritual needs. Therefore, it is as though He becomes our life. But He does not replace us. Our spirit still exists. Being in us, the Lord influences our spirit and soul. He causes us to live out His faith, hope and love—the attributes of His life. Since He is our life, He influences us deep down in our spirit. This is also what John chapter 15 means when it says He abides in us. Furthermore, Christ in us is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) He is in us to help and affect us. It is as though He is our life. Indeed, this person who’s in your heart deeply affects you and impacts your life. When you live with the Lord, He will influence your life and your heart. Now, you should understand the meaning of “Christ who is your life.” A person may also consider someone else to be really important to himself or herself. But only the Lord is our life. We truly cannot live without Him! He helps and influences us from the deepest part within us. Only when we gain nourishment from Him will we become more and more normal.
You should use your free will to choose to seek the Lord, and use your mind to think of Him. I ask you to behold the Lord. This is a starting point. If you don’t think of Him, how could you pray? You wouldn’t be able to! If you don’t pray, you have nothing, because the Bible says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” (James 4:2) If you don’t want Him and don’t have fellowship with Him, then you have nothing at all!
Therefore, your mind is very important. It is connected to your spiritual eyes. In the Bible, the phrase “look upon” is sometimes used to express faith. There are other expressions used to talk about faith, such as “rely on,” and “trust in.” You see, faith is not simply agreeing with the truth or acknowledging a fact; it involves trust. Faith is definitely connected to what you see with your spiritual eyes. What is on your mind is the same as what you see; they are closely connected. For example, when you think of the Lord in glory and in New Jerusalem, it is as though you also see Him. What is on your mind cannot be separated from what you see. It’s impossible to look upon Him without thinking of Him. So, we need to choose to seek Him and think of Him. The Holy Spirit also wants us to choose Him, but He respects our free will and will not force us to do so. We should cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit glorifies the Lord and guides us into all the truths. But we also need to use our free will to cooperate with the Lord, to choose Him and to rely on Him. Faith is to make a conscious decision to rely on the Lord, saying, “Lord, I rely on You!” This is your decision and it’s very important. We are not robots. Our love for the Lord is real. It’s our decision to trust in Him. I enjoy His love so that I can love Him. We must decide to tell the Lord, “Lord, I need You the most!” This is how you can love the Lord the most. Therefore, saying that Christ is your life is not a vague statement. He is living! He has the greatest impact in our heart, influencing us as he is our life.