For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
Dear Lord Jesus,
I praise You for choosing me, saving me from my sins and the eternal wrath to come, and for granting me eternal life by grace through faith. I praise You for the treasure I forever have in You, Jesus. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Philippians 3:8). All the treasures in the world put together couldn't even hold a candle to the treasure I have in You, Jesus. You are the Treasure of all treasures.
The Lord Looks at the Heart
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, most people in His audience believed that what was most important to God was their performance - their outward actions and external keeping of the Law. The Pharisees were considered highly spiritual by others because they were strict and rigid in their religiosity and traditions. First off, no one could ever earn eternal life by the way of good works, for we are saved by grace through faith alone, but true saving faith naturally produces good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Secondly, Jesus teaches that God cares about what's in a person's heart. Righteous behavior is only truly righteous, and saving faith in Jesus is only proven authentic when supported by a devoted, loving heart to Christ and others. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Professions of faith in Christ and external obedience are empty and futile without a loving, trusting heart in Jesus.
You Can't Serve Two Masters
Jesus applies this perspective to money. He teaches us not to stockpile riches or hoard money and earthly possessions. (Yes, we are to be thoughtful and save for a rainy day, provide for our families, and be good stewards of what God has given us. However, we are not to be anxious, greedy, or tied to perishable money or earthly treasures in any way). We can't truly serve our Lord Jesus if we are also serving money. We either trust in Jesus, or we trust in money. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24). As believers, we trust that no matter what, God always provides. If He provides for the sparrows, we can trust that He will never fail to provide for His own children.
Money and possessions are all temporary things and are easily lost or stolen. Everything on earth belongs to God anyways, and these things are not for us to keep in this temporary, fleeting life. We will leave our money and possessions behind us when we die, and we won't even care one iota about them! We will finally be in our real home in heaven, in the presence of our Lord Jesus, and in the fullness of His glory forever.
Lay Up Treasure in Heaven
Instead of laying up treasures here on earth, Jesus says to lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven. We are to store up rewards in eternity by expressing sacrificial love, devotion, and obedience to God and others during our short time on earth. Every loving thought, word, deed, and prayer produced from a trusting heart in Jesus will be rewarded to the believer as treasure in heaven; a treasure that can never perish or be stolen for all eternity. The point Jesus is making isn’t that Christians shouldn’t have wealth or possessions, but we are to have only one ultimate priority and treasure; and that is Jesus Christ, who will be our treasure for eternity. He is to be our supreme treasure every single day. He is to be at the center of everything we do, say, and think, not just something added to our lives.
Our attitudes towards wealth matter because our hearts are owned by whatever we consider our treasure to be. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also (Luke 12:34). The treasure of our hearts, whether perishable or imperishable, proves to be the real foundation of our affections. If we focus all or most of our time, energy, and effort on building our wealth, managing our money, storing up piles of money, chasing after cars, houses, jewelry, art, gold, handbags, shoes, etc, it shows that wealth and possessions are what our hearts are focused on.
Rather, if we focus on treasuring Jesus in our hearts and living for the glory of God, our hearts will glow with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. And we will walk in the Spirit and obedience to His Word as we lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven. These treasures will be forever, where moths and rust can't destroy, and where thieves can't break in and steal them. (Matthew 6:19-20). These are treasures that please the Lord and are safe with Him for eternity.
Invest Wisely
The wisest investment one could ever possibly make is investing in the glory of God by doing the will of God. And the will of God is found in the Word of God. We are to invest in our eternity wisely by investing in Jesus.
Lord, help me to live every day with keeping an eternal perspective on my life and living all for the glory of You. Help me to live this short life in the light of eternity, and give me the grace to live every day as if Jesus is coming back tonight. This life is but a vapor. You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Keeping an eternal perspective also helps me to better endure my present sufferings and glorify God through them.
For my brothers and sisters who want to develop this perspective more, pray to our Father in heaven and simply ask Him for it! He loves when you ask Him for things according to His will! You do not have, because you do not ask (James 4:2). And let's renew our minds in the truth in Jesus by opening our Bibles and keeping them open. When we grow in the knowledge of who Jesus is, that eternal perspective will become more of a reality in our hearts - because it truly is our future reality when we trust in Jesus. And how awesome is that?!
Lord, help me treasure You above all things every single day. And when I fail to treasure You as I ought, help quickly guide me back onto Your path of righteousness for Your name's sake. By Your grace, help me live for the very purpose for which you created me - for the glory of You.
All glory belongs to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
“I am so thankful that I have a joy that the world can not rob me of; I have a treasure that the world can not take from me; I have something that is not in the power of man or devil to deprive me of, and that is the joy of the LORD.” D.L. Moody
Love,
Jenna
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.