Can Christians become too heavenly-minded?

1 Peter 1:3-7… All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance-an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-though your faith is far more recious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

No Christians can not become too heavenly-minded! It may sound paradoxical to say this, but heaven should be at the center of the Christian worldview. A proper Christian worldview is uniquely focused heavenward.

Though some would deride that as escapism, it is, after all, the very thing Scripture commands in :

Colosians 3:2“ Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. “.

The apostle Paul penned that command, and his approach to life was anything but escapist.In fact, Paul is a wonderful example of the proper biblical perspective between heaven and earth. He faced overwhelming persecution on earth and never lost sight of heaven he says in:

2 Corinthians 4:8-10We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Then in verses 16-17 he adds, “ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! “

Elsewhere he told the church at Rome,

Romans 8:18“ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. “

Paul was saying exactly what Peter told the scattered and persecuted believers whenhe wrote tothem:

1Peter 3:3-7we endure the sufferings of this world for the sake of the glory of heaven. Whatever we suffer in this life cannot be compared with the glory of the life to come.

In other words: