28 Oct 2014
Matthew 6:19-21
Matthew 6:19: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
This is a very powerful passage that tends to get overlooked. Jesus actually told us to NOT amass treasure on this Earth. Why? Because it will be stolen or destroyed. We won’t be able to keep it. We’ll be spending our labor on a vapor that will dissipate. It will be wasted.
However, Jesus doesn’t forbid us from amassing wealth; instead He tells us to lay it up in Heaven. Heavenly treasure can’t be stolen, it can’t rust, and it can’t be lost. It will be safe in Heaven. There is an added side-benefit to this as well: our heart will be where our treasure is, and God wants our heart to be in Heaven.
Of course, there are many other points that are related to this. This passage means that you can lay up treasure in Heaven; you can’t bring it with you but you can send it up ahead. It also means that not everyone will have the same thing in Heaven; those who have laid up treasure will have it, and those who didn’t won’t. It implies that some people will have more than others.
People these days don’t really believe in heavenly treasure; they don’t seek it, they don’t work for it, they don’t lay it up, and they tend to ignore it. This means they will be rather empty-handed when they actually get there.