That Which Really Matters

This morning I felt like I should read from Luke's Gospel, in the twelfth chapter.  This chapter is full of much teaching and statements from Jesus, but as I was reading the following two sections stood out to me, clearly partly due to my recent loss of my father.

Luke 12:14-21, 29-34 NIV

[14] "Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” [15] Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

[16] And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. [17] He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' [18] “Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. [19] And I'll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” '

[20] “But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

[21] “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

[29] "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. [30] For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

[32] “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. [33] Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [34] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I have been thinking quite a bit about our mortality, our purpose, and how we can make a difference in the lives of those around us.  I am encouraged by Jesus' words this morning, directing us to look beyond material possessions, to the greater reality, our eternal destiny.  We are called to consider our life from a different perspective, not as it relates to our time here on earth, but rather our time afterwards in eternity.

I believe that our lives here do matter in eternity, as Jesus clearly indicates in these verses. Our focus can be on amassing things here, or in preparing our lives for our heavenly embrace.  Jesus talks about storing up treasures for ourselves in heaven, and relates it to giving to the poor, then goes on to say that we shouldn't be worried about possessions here on earth.  He preceded theses statements calling us to seek first His kingdom, to not worry about possessions.  He urges us to seek His Kingdom, to invest in this with our lives. I find it interesting that He also says His Kingdom is in us (Luke 17:21), literally in our very midst, as in people.  If we are seeking first His Kingdom, and it exists in each other, than our focus would be on each other, not on our possessions.  I think that the message, at its core, is we should be putting people before possessions.

I was talking to my Mom about relationships and our future heavenly experience.  It is my belief that the foundational value in the Kingdom of God is in relationships.  Jesus came to earth to restore our ability to have a direct relationship with the Father, becoming the Way (John 14:6).  He and the Holy Spirit desire to be with us, in relationship always (John 15-17).  We are called to be a part of the Body of Christ, through our relationships with one another (1 Cor 12).  When a man and woman marry they become one in God's eyes (Matt 19:4-6), clearly demonstrating God's perspective about relationships.  All of this is to say that it seems to me that our treasure in heaven must be related to our relationships.

Thinking further about this, if we are called to seek His Kingdom first, and it is in people (for it is clearly not delineated by geography), then the most important thing here on earth, besides out relationship with the Lord, is our relationships with one another.  Jesus says basically this same thing in answering the question about the greatest commandments - Matthew 22:37-39 NIV: "Jesus replied: “ 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  Another way to refer to the greatest commandments would be to call them the most important things to focus on - loving God and loving each other.  Thus, we come full circle for our focus on relationship with God and others is supposed to be the most important thing in all our lives.  We are supposed to put these before all else, and in so doing are adding to our treasure in heaven.  Our hearts are where are treasure is, and if our treasure is relationships with God and one another, then our hearts would be with them.  Our natural proclivity would be to care for those that we treasure, which is the exactly what Jesus was talking about.

So I am encouraged today to look at and assess the true value of the treasures in my life, namely my relationships with God and with those around me.  These are the things I should be investing in, the things that really matter, the things that are the most important in life, the greatest commandments.

Amen!