When you go on vacation, do you buy a house? Of course not. Nobody spends their entire savings to own a place they’re only going to visit for a week. You rent. You get a hotel, an Airbnb, a campsite. You enjoy it, then you go home. The cost of ownership just doesn’t make sense for a short-term stay.
Last Sunday at Grace Bible Church, Pastor Josh White preached on Colossians 3:1-4 and asked whether we’ve been treating this life like a vacation rental or like our forever home. His answer was simple and sharp: if you’re in Christ, this isn’t home yet. Stop investing like it is.
The text: where Christ is, that’s where your life is
Josh White opened by walking through Paul’s argument in Colossians chapter 3. For ten months the church has been in this letter, and now they finally hit the halfway point. Half the book is foundation — who Jesus is, what He’s done, why shortcuts and add-ons to the gospel don’t work. The second half is application: now what?
“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 the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ and God. When Christ who is your life appears, you also will appear with him in glory.”
— Colossians 3:1-4
Josh White’s point: most people plan their lives around the next few hours, or maybe the next few years. Paul is calling us to plan around the next several ages. Where Christ is right now — seated at the right hand of the Father — that’s where your real address is.
Seek the things above
The Greek word for “seek” here is zeteo. It’s not looking for something lost. It’s thinking about, meditating on, weighing the outcomes. It’s a mental command. Paul is telling the church: don’t make rash decisions. Weigh your long-term outcomes against where Christ actually is.
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
— Philippians 3:20-21
If you’ve been rescued from this present evil age, you don’t keep spending like you’re stuck here. Josh White drove this home with a question: how often do you actually think about eternity? Not in a vague spiritual sense — actually stop and consider what comes next. Most of us are renting and we don’t even realize it.
Transform your mind
The second way to live with a renter’s mentality is by renewing your mind, not conforming it to the world’s pattern. Josh walked through Romans 12:2 and unpacked what that actually looks like in everyday thinking.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
— Romans 12:2
The Greek word for “transformed” is metamorpho — the same root as metamorphosis. Caterpillar into butterfly. Change of pattern. Josh White gave a list we need to sit with:
- Revenge → forgiveness
- Self-centered → serving others
- Anxiety → trust in God
- Materialism → contentment
- Pride → humility
- Lust → purity
- Fearing people → fearing God
- Bitterness → love
- Temporary thinking → eternal thoughts
That last line is the one Josh White tied directly to the vacation rental metaphor. The world’s pattern is humanism — me, my effort, my glory, my comfort. Paul’s pattern is citizenship in heaven and a resurrection body in the age to come. Your mind has to be renewed to want those things, not just intellectually assent to them.
Two questions to sit with this week
Josh White closed with two honest questions. Take a minute with these.
How often do you actually think about eternity? Not in a vague spiritual sense — actually stop and consider what comes next. Most of us are renting and we don’t even realize it.
Do you make decisions based on what the world says is important, or what Christ says is important? Relationships, jobs, where you live, how you provide for your family — none of those are evil. But they all have to be weighed against your real hope, your true purpose, your eternal future.
The day Josh White preached this, the church had just come back from a week of summer camp where 16 young people made first-time decisions to follow Christ. But even one — even zero — couldn’t change the worth of the investment, because the faithfulness isn’t ours to measure. The fruit is. As he closed with the benediction from Jude 24-25: Christ is the one able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before His presence with great joy.
So What?
If you’re in Christ, you’re not home. You don’t buy the house. You rent the beach week, you enjoy the mountains, and you remember that your permanent address is somewhere else entirely. So this week — work, family, money, decisions, all of it — try weighing them against where Christ is seated, not just what’s in front of you.
Josh White’s application was direct: don’t let the patterns of this world squeeze you into its mold. Be transformed. We meet at 10:30 every Sunday to be reminded together.
Scripture References
- Colossians 3:1-4 — The main text for the sermon
- Philippians 3:17-21 — Our citizenship is in heaven
- Romans 12:2 — Be transformed by the renewal of your mind
- Ephesians 2:4-7 — Seated with Christ in heavenly places
- Galatians 1:3-5 — Rescued from the present evil age
- Jude 24-25 — The benediction