Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Every one of us has things we consider treasure, whether we think in those terms or not. Finances are of course common, as are houses and stocks and cars and assorted expensive things. Objectively, it’s easy to see that fixating on those things makes us emotionally and spiritually poorer. Then there are the less financially-connected things, like mementos and photographs and the like. Some of those might rise to the category of heirlooms, but we still cling even to those that don’t. Moving even further from finances, there are people, and even pets. We have great difficulty accepting emotionally that all these things are given to us for a time, but aren’t permanent. That doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable and aren’t to be treated as such, but it does mean that we are to hold all things loosely. It is only when our ultimate value, our greatest treasure, is God and His kingdom that we have lasting security, because they will never end. It is when we treasure our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ above and beyond anything and everything else that we have real stability. There are extreme examples of this in the world even today. Within the past couple of days video was released of an incident that happened a little earlier this year in India, where men of a Hindu tribal group stripped three women of a Christian tribal group naked, paraded them down the street, and then at least the youngest was led into a field and gang raped. That 20-year-old woman could be essentially destroyed, but if her heart is indeed fixed on Christ and His kingdom, she will be healed. When times are easy we don’t think about where our treasure is, and it’s very easy to let all sorts of things take the place in our heart that belongs only to God. That’s why hard times can actually be the best times, because they force us to look at what is really valuable, and reorient our priorities.

I’ve had assorted things that I’ve valued over the years, but I’m thankful that my parents weren’t materialistic and so I didn’t have a bad example here. I would say that my wife is my greatest visible treasure, but I’m very aware that physically speaking we are both quite temporary. After all, she’s already died and been sent back once! I desire that God be my highest and first priority, and indeed my morning devotion times are extremely important to me, but I still have to admit that other things impinge on that at times. I want to do God’s will, but sometimes I wish He’d lay out an easier course for me! Yesterday I got tied in knots over things I considered criticisms or even attacks, and as a result made mistakes that further inconvenienced me. That shows that I still treasure my pride, and that’s something I thought was dealt with years ago! I still have plenty of room to let go of everything and cling only to my Lord, knowing that He has firm hold of me, (Philippians 3:12) letting Him be my true treasure.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that You keep teaching me and growing me in various ways. Thank You that I’ll be guiding an American short-term missions team around Nagasaki City today. I ask for physical and emotional endurance, that I would be a blessing to them and help them focus on why they are here, so that as they go on to another area tomorrow they may be in step with what You have for them, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!