Daily Devotional

Lately I’ve been feeling the call of Yosemite Valley.  If I don’t visit once a year I start going through withdrawals.  One of the most-breathtaking views on the planet, in my opinion, is driving through Wawona Tunnel and bursting out into the light with the sprawling splendor of the valley on full display.  Standing on the cliff-edge, gazing out over the expanse, the granite-majesty of El Capitan glows with the rays of the sun, the cascade of Bridalveil Fall plunges 617’ to the earth, the floor of the valley is carpeted with verdant pine, and Half Dome’s visor reaches up to kiss the clouds on the horizon.

Over the years I’ve hiked all over Yosemite, and there’s nothing more exhilarating than reaching the top of a majestic summit and gazing out on the wonderful world beneath me.
This is what I think about when I read Ephesians 2:6. Let’s just call it a heavenly perspective on life.  

Too often we get trapped in the valleys of our circumstances, our vision is blocked by the forest, and we never climb above our problems to see things from God’s perspective.  And yet at any moment we have the ability to do so.  Why?  Because God has raised us up with Christ!  He’s given us new life.  And not only that – he’s seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms.
Just to be clear, where is Christ sitting right now?  At the right hand of the Father.  And he’s not sitting in a recliner with his hand on a remote.  He’s sitting on the throne with a scepter in his hand.

It’s astonishing to me that we would be invited to share in the glory of Christ reigning over the earth!  But that’s what Ephesians 2:6 suggests.  Because of our blood-bought identification with Christ and our invincible union with him, we share in his victory.  There is a sense in which we are co-reigning with Christ, just as he is co-reigning with the Father.  So even though we are his hands and feet on earth, our hearts and minds must remain with him in heaven.  This is the heavenly vantage point that Christ offers us, greater and higher than any mountain peak in Yosemite.  It’s a chance to see all of life through the eyes of Christ, through the lens of Scripture.  It's a perspective of eternity that makes our problems seem light and momentary.  It’s a way of walking in the life and power of Christ’s resurrection.

I pray that today we would hold onto the words of Colossians 3:1-4 – “Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

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