Being Raised

“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1 (NRSVUE) 

There’s something tender about the word raised. It’s not a cold, technical term. It’s a word full of care, intention, and relationship.

In reading today’s verse, two images come to mind immediately.

The first image is simple and familiar. When our granddaughters spend the occasional overnight, there’s a moment early in the morning when the youngest used to stir in the crib, stand up, and reach out. Now she’s bigger, but the gesture is the same — arms lifted, trusting that Nana or I will gather her in. We lean down, scoop her up, and everything changes for her. Needs are met. Fear quiets. Comfort settles in. She sees the room from a different height, held in arms that are warm, steady, and comforting. Being raised changes her experience — not because the crib was bad, but because love lifts her to a higher, safer vantage point. 

The second image is earthier. It’s the feeling of slogging through mud on a difficult hike through a New England bog — boots heavy, mire caked thick around the soles, every step a labor. Then a friend on dry ground reaches out a steady hand and pulls you up. In a moment, you’re out of the muck. You can breathe easily again. You’re standing where the ground is firm.

Both images carry the same truth: being raised gives us a different perspective.

Paul says that in Christ, this has already happened. “If you have been raised with Christ…” — not if you might be someday, not if you earn it, not if you feel it today. You have been raised — past tense. Christ has already gone to the cross and risen, in order that you might stand in resurrection life in this present moment. God has already lifted you from the crib of fear and the mire of struggle. You stand, even now, in a new place. 

And from that new place, the world looks different.

Being raised with Christ means we don’t live from the ground level of anxiety, resentment, or scarcity. We live from the higher ground of grace. We see ourselves differently — beloved, chosen, held. We see others differently — not as obstacles, but as fellow travelers. We see our circumstances differently — not as traps, but as places where resurrection power is already at work.

Paul’s invitation is simple: seek the things that match the height you’ve been lifted to. Look for what belongs to resurrection life. Look for what reflects Christ’s vantage point. Look for what aligns with the place where God has already set you.

You have been lifted. You have been raised. Let your perspective rise with you.

Risen Christ, thank you for lifting us from the places where we were stuck, afraid, or weary. Help us live today from the higher ground of your grace. Raise our thoughts, our hopes, and our desires so they match the life you’ve already given us. Let our perspective be shaped not by the mire beneath us, but by the resurrection that holds us. Amen.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Tim