Book Three, Chapter 10: Hope

Paul writes four short verses that rearrange a life. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Notice the order. Paul doesn't say, work harder and you may be raised. He says, you have been raised, so seek. The direction of the mind follows from what Christ has already done.

Then comes the reason: “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.” Paul pictures a life that is secure and not yet fully on display. Hope, in this passage, is not wishful thinking. It points to a person, Christ, and to a day when he appears.

In his chapter on hope, Lewis sets out three ways of thinking about heaven: the fool's, the disillusioned, and the Christian. Hold all three beside these four verses and read them slowly. Ask what Colossians 3:1-4 puts at the center and what kind of mind it asks for.

The chapter also leaves readers with a question to work out. It is what Lewis means in his well-known remark about which aim, heaven or earth, ends up serving the other. Colossians gives you a good place to wrestle with it. Paul speaks of seeking and setting the mind, and we're left to think through what happens to ordinary days, such as work, money, relationships, and rest, once that direction is set.

Lewis also argues that our desire for heaven is a reason to hope heaven is real. That idea has company in Scripture. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has put eternity into human hearts. Hebrews 11:16 says that people of faith desire a better country, a heavenly one. A longing that nothing here fully satisfies, whether it comes in a quiet evening, a piece of music, or a grief, may be a clue pointing to something real. Paul's command to “seek” assumes there is something to be found.

A caution, because longing can go in more than one direction. Longing for heaven is different from wanting not to be alive. If you are carrying thoughts of ending your life, or you wish you didn't exist, please reach out now. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency services. And tell a pastor, counselor, or trusted friend what you are carrying, because you shouldn't carry it alone.

For everyone else: hope is meant to make today more alive. Today, practice setting your mind in one small, concrete way.