Skip to main content

Mine, All Mine

           “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures 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.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

          They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin. (Ezekiel 7:19)

          “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

          If we are going to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, it would probably be useful to have an idea what the coin of heaven is. Even if it were not already clear that “we can’t take it with us,” Ezekiel makes it clear that money isn’t worth much in God’s kingdom. How much would you give in exchange for a hundred pounds of dirt?  Or paving stones?

          According to most religions, heaven is a reward due those who live a good life, or whose good deeds outweigh their evil deeds. But Jesus tells us that people who prophesied and did miracles “in His name” can be unknown to Him and therefore have no treasures in heaven. At the same time, in I Timothy 6:18, Paul tells Timothy to be rich in good deeds. But what makes the good deed a good deed, if people doing miracles and great deeds in Jesus’ name don’t receive any credit from God?

          There are places where Scripture talks about crowns or rewards being given for things we do. In II Timothy 4:8, Paul mentions a crown of righteousness. He also tells the Thessalonians and the Philippians that, metaphorically(?), they are his crown. Peter mentions a crown of glory.

          Two answers come to mind. The first is that our wealth in the heavenly places is what God has given us and put there on our behalf. But if it has nothing to do with us, how can we store treasures in heaven?

The second idea is that our means of laying up those treasures involves, as Dallas Willard and C.S. Lewis both seem to suggest, our becoming more than more the treasure itself. God is at work in us, and He will complete the task but that task is to conform us to the image of Christ, so that we will have access to His treasury. Could it be that laying up treasures in heaven isn’t about having treasure that is mine, all mine, and I can do whatever I want with it?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more