Treasures of Your Life

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6

A treasure, so priceless, magnificent, awesome, astonishing and so sacrificial has been given to you.  The sacrificial love of Jesus Christ is this wonderful treasure and it has been freely given, without cost to you.  Very costly, however on the part of Jesus giving His very life for you.  This treasure of sacrificial love displayed by Jesus was the message of agape (ἀγάπη), giving love to all, both friend and enemy.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:7-9

This selfless gift was given when we were God's enemy, sinful and living without Him.  God wanted what was best for you, before you know it yourself, or had interest in Him.  In Romans 3, we can read this, "There is no one righteous, not even one", there was nothing about us that earned God's love. "This righteousness is given through faith", this faith stands alone, not by following the Law.  This basic truth of salvation still holds believers back from being in the full liberty of Christ.  Too often we still think we need to do somethings to get this treasure, works, the way we dress, baptism, rites, . . .etc.  It is almost as if you can only come to the Lord after I clean myself up, but all the actions and laws you keep can not save or make you more presentable in the eyes of God. Only the humility of knowing this and asking for help from God, through His Spirit, can this be achieved.  We can not clean up our lives without the Holy Spirit help. 

This gift so astonishing, easy and so freely given, by God, then why do we as Christians spend time trying to change people on our own.  Why is is easier to tell people "you can't do this or that" then to tell them the Good News of this treasure in Jesus Christ.  It is only through Christ and the Spirit that humankind can change. God did not tell us to go and clean up the world, He told us to go and share the Gospel, the Gift, the Treasure.  It is the Gospel that will change the world.  

When we show hate and anger towards others and our own brothers and sisters we grive God.  We are to show love in our words and our actions, as God did when we did not deserve it.  It is these actions that show the world we are His reflections and the Gospel in action. Love has been given to us as a measurement of the changes that take place when we come to Christ. 

14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. - 1 John 3 

C.S. Lewis phrased this truth quite well, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” 

" For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  So as a Christian, where is your treasure?  “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."  

Even in the Old Testament the Lord God instructed His people, Israel; "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.  Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other."- Zechariah 7  

How then can we continue in the service of pleasure and confort?  “I didn’t go to religion" stated C.S Lewis, "to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”   You see the true gift is sacrifice, the treasure is giving.  Our gift was given to us to pass it on to others in His name. The Blessings come, not from what we have but what we can give. God does not bless what you want but blesses you, when you change and conform to His will. Paul wrote to the Romans and in chapter 12 expressed this truth, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is -his good, pleasing and perfect will."

In his book, "Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals" activist, and controversial Christian author, Shane Claiborne, writes:“When the church takes affairs of the state more seriously than they do Jesus, Pax Romana becomes its gospel and the president becomes the Son of God."  He goes on, “Some folks may be really bummed to find that "God bless America" does not appear in the Bible. So often we do things that make sense to us and ask God to bless our actions and come alongside our plans, rather than looking at the things God promises to bless and acting alongside of them. For we know that God's blessing will inevitably follow if we are with the poor, the merciful, the hungry, the persecuted, the peacemakers. But sometimes we'd rather have a God who conforms to our logic than conform our logic to the God whose wisdom is a stumbling block to the world of smart bombs and military intelligence.” 

When from now on, might we pray for God's will and the ability to accept it, to voice your hope and wishes to Him that He will confort us and guide us in His wishes and given the peace of doing His will. Let me close with one of the most selfless people in modern history, Mothe Teresa. "Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."