Hidden. Protected. Safe.

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on 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." Colossians 3: 1-4

I read Colossians 3:1-4 during my quiet time this morning and I was truly touched by these verses as I pondered them. I believe, in these verses, Paul is trying to remind us who we are in Jesus. After meditating on these verses, I thought I would share my simple attempt at paraphrasing: If we are saved, we are raised with Christ. This means that we are new creatures, dead to the old self, alive in Christ. So, since we are new creatures in Christ, we should set our hearts and minds on the things of Christ. On heavenly things. Not dwelling on the things of this world. When we surrendered our lives to Christ, we died and are hidden in Jesus. Our life is now found in Jesus and we will spend eternity in glory with Him.

This evening, Bryan, the boys, and I were playing on the bed in our master bedroom. (I don't know why but the boys love playing on our bed.) Somehow the game "fight for Mommy" ensued. For some reason the boys enjoy fighting over me. I will admit, I love that all 3 of my guys want to be close to me! Anyway, as we were playing "fight for mommy," I was laying on the bed and Bryan huddled above me, completely hiding me from the boys. He would say, "this is my mommy" and the boys would squeal and try to pull him off of me screaming, "no, she's mine, mine." This went on for nearly 30 minutes. It was so cute and so loud and so wild. As I laid there, completely covered by my husband, my mind was drawn back to the verses I studied this morning. Just as Bryan was completely hiding me from my screaming little boys, so does Christ hide me from this world. When I surrender my life to Him, the world can be going crazy all around me but I am protected. I am safe in Jesus. I have died to my old life and I am a new creature, completely covered by my Savior. 

Today I am thankful that I am a new creature in Christ. I don't have to worry about the things of this world. I can relax and spend my time focusing on heavenly things. Because I have surrendered to Him, my life is found in Him. I have eternity to look forward to even if things don't go my way today or tomorrow. I am also grateful that Jesus covers me. In the future, when I read these verses, I hope I envision my husband protecting me during the "fight for mommy" game we played today. It was the perfect illustration of how Jesus covers us. I am thankful that I am hidden. I am protected. I am safe in my Lord.