Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Applying God’s Word for today: Where is your heart?
We require essential needs for daily survival—food, shelter, water, and air. While water and air are vital, it’s difficult to conceive of worshipping them. Like food and shelter, water and air are blessings from God. Yet, we become so preoccupied with food and homes that our hearts focus on getting more, and these things become idols. The key point is that just as God provides us with water and air, He also supplies food and shelter. He has given us the ability to earn money to purchase what we need to support ourselves and our families.
God has blessed many people in the Bible abundantly, so having things and being blessed by them is not Jesus’ point here. His point is to focus your attention on storing up treasures in heaven, which means focusing on your salvation, while God will bless you as He sees fit. God’s Word and sacraments bring about a change of heart. The Holy Spirit uses these to strengthen your faith, and it is by faith that we trust our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. He suffered the cross to redeem us from our sins so that we are restored to the Father. It is faith that delivers these gifts to us, and we trust in God’s love, grace, and mercy. In trust, we also realize that God not only sustains us spiritually but also provides for our physical needs.
Listen to Jesus’ words for today and store up treasures in heaven. What a treasure it is, because we can share it with others as much as we want, and it will never run out. Let those around you know of the treasure that awaits them, God’s gifts: love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
Dear Lord Jesus, send us the Holy Spirit to make a change in our hearts from focusing on worldly things to focusing on our heavenly treasures, so that our hearts are also in heaven. Amen.
The things of the world are here today, and tomorrow they are gone; all those things we thought we had to have now sit in a landfill. Yet our faith is never used up, obsolete, worn, or outdated; God’s love is forever. Store up treasures in heaven by strengthening your faith.