Heavenly Treasures

 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in a steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." "The eye is the lamp to the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness. " No one can serve 2 masters. Either you hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

                                                Matthew 6:19-24

    Jesus does not beat around the bush when it comes to living a life that is committed to God. As people of this world, it can be easy to think a successful life is one filled with provision and wealth on earth, for without those things we have to rely on other people to fulfill various tasks. Jesus makes it clear that to live a life pleasing to the Father, we should not build upon wealth in strongholds on earth, a place that is only temporary and subject to theft or ruin, instead, we should store up treasures in Heaven, a place that is eternal and free from all the things that can bring it down. There are a couple ways we can do this. 

        First, we can invest our time, energy and talents in reaching the lost with the good news of the gospel. Our time evangelizing will be fruitful when we determine in our hearts to live out what we believe, to be genuine about the saving grace of God, and show the love of God with the people around us. By using our time on earth to do our part to bring more people into the kingdom, God sees the intentions of our heart and will honor these things when we are standing before the judgment seat in Heaven. 

       Next, we store up heavenly treasures by choosing what we consume and allow into our bodies and minds. Jesus is not talking about the food we eat, but the things we consume that take up our time throughout the day.  A body won't be heathy if it never receives the proper nutrients. In the same way, our souls will never feel refreshed if we continue to fill them with darkness and worldly things. If you fill a room with light, it will reach all corners of the space, but if filled with darkness, nothing else can penetrate it.

        Lastly, who we choose to serve. Whether we realize it or not, the things we devote our time towards are the things in our life that have become our master. The more things we serve, the less efficient of a servant we will be in all of these things. The more things that come between us and God, the more we will experience burnout and fatigue, trying to please all things at once. 

God has filled this world with good things, but he has also given us the wisdom and the ability to flee from the bad, not-so-great things. Choose the things of God, and you will begin to build your storehouse in Heaven. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man of a Journey through the Sermon on the Mount.