When I crossed the state line into North Carolina last week, muscles relaxed that I didn't know were tense. When I got to my family, I was completely at ease. Now, sitting on my bed shrouded in a purple quilt, I look out my bedroom window to the yard just beyond it. The porch swing gently lulls in the light breeze and the azaleas do the same as they wait for Spring to bring their blooms. The sun is lighting up the Carolina Blue sky. I hear the washer on the spin cycle and I hear Mom lightly humming in the kitchen. This is what home is.
As I read in my Bible this morning, the Lord gave me a small slice of what home is waiting for me. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust 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)
While I cannot prove it, I believe that Earth has glimpses of what heaven is like. There is something about the majestic beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains or nature in general that feeds my soul, for instance. But having said that, Heaven is pretty much the opposite of whatever we could think of here. Here, you can't really have any material thing and keep it. It either wears out, breaks or gets stolen or just goes out of vogue. Like I said, I think there are echoes of heaven here on earth. But it's just that: echoes. This is a faded version of glorious color.
In verse 21, Jesus says that where your treasure is laid up is where your heart is going to be. Your heart is the core of you. Wherever you have put your treasure, whether on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, or in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal, your heart is going to be where your treasure is. What do you value? Where is your focus? Is it of eternal significance? While very tasty, the only way Starbucks sticks with you is around your middle. While awesome to have, you still need to purchase a new mac every 4 years or so. While necessary, a new car will lose its lovely smell and its efficient function over the years. Clothes wear out or go out of style. Jobs become obsolete. Phones get scratched and their software updated regularly. But what is eternal? What lasts?
It is the spiritually mature who can see that the things of God are the only things that last. Our souls never die. Invest in God's kingdom. Love God. Love people. Those are the things that will be carried over into eternity. If we don't do those things, that will also be carried into eternity. Matthew 6:14 & 15 says "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." What you do (or don't do) now echoes in eternity. Where is your heart? Where is your treasure? What do you treasure? Jesus goes on to say that the way we see things effects everything in our life and in the lives of those around us (Matthew 6:22-23)
When you daydream, what do you think about? Most likely, that's where your focus is. Be eternally minded. Be focused on the treasures that heaven esteems. They'll be safe there. And anything you lay up in heaven is going to last.
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