“Set your affection on the things above, not on the things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

How solemn and full meaning are these words! To set the affections on the heavenly things is to realize the ardent desire of the apostle: that he might “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10). Oh, there is a mighty, elevating power in the resurrection of Christ! It is the great lever of a child of God, lifting him above the earth, heavenward. To know that he is closely and inseparably one with the risen Head of the church is to be the subject of continuous, quickening influence, which in spirit raises him from the dust and darkness and pollutions…Nothing will more sanctify and elevate our hearts than to have them brought under the power of Christ’s resurrection. Following Him by faith, from the dust of the earth to the glory of heaven, the affections will ascend with their beloved. Where He is, the heart’s most precious treasure, there it will be also. And oh, to have the heart with Christ in heaven, what an unspeakable mercy!

But the sweetest, the most powerful attraction of heaven, let us never forget, is, that Jesus is there. What would heaven be, were He absent? Could we, at this moment, rush into the fond embrace of the dearest and most glorified ones, and meet not the “Chief among ten thousand,” the altogether lovely One, who on earth was more precious to our hearts than life itself? Oh, how soon would its glory fade from our eye, and its music pall upon our ear! It would cease to be heaven without Christ. Even on earth His presence and His smile constitute the first dawning of a better world. He who lives most in the enjoyment of this-and oh, how much more may be enjoyed than we have the faintest conception of-has most of the element of heaven in his soul.

Aim, then, to cultivate heavenly affections, by a life of high communion with God. -Octavius Winslow

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Brothers, I can speak with all sincerity and without fear of recrimination that the only, ONLY thing that will chase away our need for the approval and applause of others, or the need to see the seats filled to capacity every week and growing, so that our joy is tied to such things, is having our affections set and settled upon Jesus. Is He enough for you if no one shows up? Does He stay enough for you when then do? Is His beauty enough in and of itself to keep our hearts steady during times of trial and difficulty? Or do you, like me, sometimes use Jesus as currency to buy the idol of man’s approval?

May God grow our affections and delight in His Son, by the power of His Spirit as the Gospel penetrates those dark, unspeakable corners we’ve kept hidden (or so we think) from Him.