Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life…
–Colossians 3:1-4
These keys tell a story, in large part my story. I own two cars, a Nissan and Toyota. I possess a key to my sister and brother-in-law’s house and have been appointed power over their estate when they pass. There’s a key to the office where I work, a key to a church in another town, a key to my parent’s house, and two keys accessing my own personal home.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Big deal. I have all that too, and more.” But what you may not know is there was a time when I was a drunk and a crackhead. I had one car I couldn’t afford, I was banned from my parents’ house, I had no home of my own, I couldn’t pay my rent, and I had no access to anything because I couldn’t be trusted.
We talk a lot in Christendom about the need to “trust in Jesus.” And I agree that is true. We need Him desperately. But have you ever considered, if you’re in Christ, that Jesus trusts in you? You see, salvation was a moment in your life, not when you “gave yourself to Christ”, but when Christ gave Himself to you. You didn’t accept Jesus, but Jesus accepted you. He gave you His very life. You have been raised up with Christ…When Christ who is our life… (Col. 3:1, 4).
In Christ, you have received a trust. In the financial world, a trust is created when a person called a “settlor” gives property to another person called a “trustee” to hold for the benefit of a third person (beneficiary). If you create a trust, you also control how and to whom those assets will be disbursed. In other words, you choose the trustees to carry out your wishes.
It’s very similar in the spiritual realm. Jesus is that settlor who has deposited all his assets and valuables into you, the trustee, for the benefit of third party recipients. This concept is what Paul is encouraging in seeking the things above…Set your mind on things above…For (the untrustworthy) you has died and your life is hidden in Christ, but Christ’s life is correspondingly hidden in you. And in Christ, you’ve been given the keys to access His kingdom…seeing that His divine power has granted to you everything pertaining to life and godliness…that you may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3, 4).
How, you may ask, can I say dogmatically that these verses heading up Colossians 3 are referring to Jesus making us trustees for the benefit of others? The context tells me so. We carry Christ, who is our life into:
1. The issues of sex (Col. 3:5-7)
2. The issues of speech (Col. 3:8-11)
3. The issues of relationships in general (Col. 3:12-17)
4. The issues of marriage (Col. 3:18-19)
5. The issues of parenting (Col. 3:20-21)
6. The issues of employment (Col. 3:22-4:1)
7. The issues of evangelism (Col. 4:2-6)
For some of you out there, nobody has ever trusted you with anything. Maybe you’ve been very untrustworthy. But God, in Christ, has given you a stewardship. You’ve received a trust. It’s Christ in you, the hope certainty of glory (Col. 1:27). And we have this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7), that we might extend Christ’s life, His love, His peace, His joy and His kindness into all our affairs each day.
Jesus trusts you this I know, for Colossians tells me so.
1 Corinthians 4:1-2
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