What Jesus is saying is that there are basically two ways to go through this life.  We can live in such a way that we demonstrate that our treasure is here on earth.  Or we can live in such a way that we demonstrate to the world that Jesus is our treasure.  The problem with storing up treasures here on earth is that they don’t last and you can’t take any of it with you when you go. If we don’t learn it by life experiences, there is something we should learn from every funeral. We don’t “own” anything because we don’t take it with us.  You’ve probably heard it said, you never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul.  Solomon, the wisest man ever, said, “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” {Ecclesiastes 5:15}   The apostle Paul concurred, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” {1st Timothy 6:7}   Here’s what that means.  If your treasure is on earth, then every day you are getting further and further away from it. You are not staying on this planet. But if your treasure is in heaven and that is where you are investing, then every day you are getting closer and closer to it. So the question becomes, do you want to be moving away from your treasure, or do you want to be moving toward it? It’s up to you.

The other problem with earthly treasures is, they don’t last.  We’ve all experienced this.   You buy something, and then you get it home and by the time you’ve taken it out of the box they’ve already come out with the next version.  And it’s bigger, or better, or faster, or shinier.  Riches are uncertain.  They don’t last.  That’s why we are encouraged to invest in the Kingdom.  Every investment you make for God’s Kingdom will pay dividends, not only in this life, but also in the life to come. Randy Alcorn says it like this, ‘Financial planners tell us, ‘When it comes to your money, don’t think just three months or three years ahead.  Think thirty years ahead.’  Christ, the ultimate investment counselor, takes it further.  He says, don’t ask how your investment will pay off in just thirty years.  Ask how it will be paying off in thirty million years.’

But it’s that last part of what Jesus says that is the real key.  It’s not that God is after your stuff.  God is after your heart.  And the thing is, God knows that our hearts tend to wrap themselves around our wallets.  Let me give you an example of this.  Would you like to get interested in, say, Apple? I’ll tell you how to do it very quickly: buy Apple stock. All of a sudden you’ll find yourself reading articles and learning everything you can about the company.  Why?  Because our hearts follow our treasure.

So the question becomes, how do we get out of this cycle where we continually treasure other things over and above God.  And the answer is, we must learn to see Jesus as being infinitely better then whatever it is that is competing for our affections.  Because He is infinitely better. Nobody says it better than C.S. Lewis. In his famous essay, The Weight of Glory, Lewis says this, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak.   We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” I love this quote. Because it’s us!  We don’t long for Him.  We don’t treasure Him.  Why?  Because Bravo has some new show about Cakes! Because the play-offs are on.  That’s why we don’t yearn.   So the real problem is, we don’t always want God like we should.

So how do we rectify that?  We fight to bring ourselves into God’s presence.  That’s what we do. Because God’s presence is the most beautiful glorious thing there is.  And the heart that has been awaked to the reality of God wants nothing to do with the things of this world.   The heart that has seen the Lord cries out with the Psalmist, ‘Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ {Ps. 73:25-26}  You see,  Christ is to be cherished, not just chosen.  And the heart that has truly seen the glory of Christ would gladly trade everything for the joy of knowing Him.

So fight your way into the presence of the Lord today.  Fight for your joy.  Do whatever you have to do to make your way into His glorious presence.  Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Pastor Daniel

welcome video from Joshua Jhun on Vimeo.