“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 and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” –Matthew 6:19-21
The famous missionary and martyr, Jim Elliot, was called a fool by many for going to Ecuador. “They’ll kill you there!” some told him. “You’ll lose your life!” Well, Jim Elliot did lose his life when he was killed by members of the very tribe he was trying to reach. His wife, Elisabeth, kept his journal in which he once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Elisabeth Elliot returned to that same tribe where she spent years doing her mission work. All the while, she held to that same truth that when we give up our worldly possessions for the sake of the Gospel to gain eternal treasure in Christ, it makes perfect sense!
In our part of the world, people are obsessed with accumulating stuff. Next time you’re out driving, just count the number of storage places you see—all existing for the sole purpose of keeping things no one is using.
I’m not telling you to sell everything you have and move to Timbuktu. But how might your attitude change if you saw your worldly possessions as secondary to your heavenly treasures? Stuff can’t make you happy, but heavenly treasures will give you everlasting joy.–By Jack Graham
EXPERIENCE EVERLASTING JOY BY KEEPING YOUR HEAVENLY TREASURES – YOUR WORK FOR CHRIST – AS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY!
