Treasures!

Treasures!

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Matthew 6:19‭-‬20 KJV

There is a right time for everything; there is a right place for every material. You do not put new wine in old wineskins, and you do not cast your pearls before swine. The value I place on something will define how much of it I share with the public or the value of care I place on it. If I do not consider it valuable, the world will definitely not raise its price on my behalf. So, one thing is clear from today's extract: there are treasures in our hands looking for eternal dwellings. As I live from day to day, I am building a final resting place for these treasures. Pray, am I working towards the right kind of eternal dwelling? 

And as it has been said so often over the past few days, there is no fence here. You can't play down the middle by seeking to lay your treasures neither on earth or in heaven. There is no open options: it is one or the other. It can't be both at the same time, as no man can serve two very different masters with two very different eternal realities all at the same time. So, as I take stock today, I ask myself yet again: "who am I working for"? 

And as is God's custom, He tells us the end of either decision. If I focus so much on earth that I do not prepare for the eternal, there will be nothing to show for it when I show up before God. If I have spent all my fortunes to make a name for myself down here, what would I lay claim to as the reason why I should be admitted to eternal dwellings? Then the opposite: do I focus so much on heaven and the eternal, that I forget to live in the now, preparing adequately for eternity? If the Lord intended that salvation was the key to immediate rapture, He won't have left me down here to work, representing Him. My being here is proof that He wants to impact my world through me. 

It will therefore be the highest betrayal for me to now live for my own pleasure. We have come full circle from total dependence on God to our own schemes. Let it be known today that whatever belongs to the earth is subject to the conditions of the earth. There is nothing that was built to last forever down here, so if all I have stored up are the things of this earth, I do not have anything of any value. However, God promises that whatever I place in His hands is eternally safe, and that is why it is wisdom to place my life in His hands. He is the owner of all of heaven and earth, and He is able to keep that which has been committed into His hands. 

Moth, rust and thieves are the earth's way of reminding us that there is really nothing of value down here. However, none of these things exist in heaven, and imagine how many centuries ago it was that Jesus promised He was going to prepare a place for us. There is nothing that can touch those things, and it is wisdom to make plans for the treasures in heaven by finding out what it requires and doing all you can to take hold of it now and hold tight to it to the end. If I know the value, there is nothing I won't do to get it. If I do not understand the value, it will hold no attraction for me. However, remember, one day soon, the One who is the greatest treasure will return for all who have made the right investments of their lives into His hands, are committed to the things of eternal value and eagerly awaiting His return. Am I really one of them? Are you? His time of favour is here.