“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: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 16:19-21)
When I read this verse again recently, it made me ask myself, “Where is my treasure?” “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I must confess that the Lord is not always foremost in my thoughts. Is that true of you, also?
We must be circumspect that we do not allow ourselves to get overly involved in financial pursuits, and by extension, politics, sports, our worldly ambitions, etc., at the expense of our time alone with God.
What will help us is if we take time to read the Word of God and pray daily.
Certainly, our thoughts will influence the life that we live and who we become. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:…” (Proverbs 23:7)
Philippians 4:8 also comes to mind – “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Reading these verses, does it not point to our Lord Jesus Christ, that “blessed man of Calvary?” Is He not worthy of our meditation of who He is and what He has accomplished for us?
In addition to those we associate with, people observe our life by what we do and say.
Can they look at us and say we are “different?”
We are supposed to be a reflection of the Lord Jesus, like the moon is a reflection of the sun. Can others see that reflection of Christ in us?
Remember Paul also said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)
We are supposed to be different by not conforming to this world, being transformed by the renewing of our mind…
Others are observing our behavior, but so is God. Unlike others, He sees us every moment of every day – “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)
And so, our time on earth is short. May we redeem the time we have – “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16, NASB)
The Lord is coming soon, to receive us to Himself.
There are many things we cannot control, but, we can control how we spend our time. With the days we have remaining, may our focus be on Him and His interests, not on our own. Might we seek to lay up for ourselves “treasures in heaven” and not on the earth, for this is not our home.
I’m But a Stranger Here
(by Thomas Rawson Taylor)
I’m but a stranger here,
Heaven is my home;
Earth is a desert drear;
Heaven is my home:
Danger and sorrow stand
Round me on every hand;
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven is my home.
What though the tempest rage,
Heaven is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage,
Heaven is my home:
And time’s wild wintry blast
Soon shall be overpast;
I shall reach home at last,
Heaven is my home.
There at my Saviour’s side,
Heaven is my home
I shall be glorified,
Heaven is my home.
There are the good and blest,
Those I love most and best;
And there I too shall rest,
Heaven is my home.
Therefor I murmur not,
Heaven is my home;
Whate’er my earthly lot,
Heaven is my home:
And I shall surely stand
There at my Lord’s right hand:
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven is my home.