Pile of Hardships

~~~ 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:19-23 ~~~

...store up treasures in heaven...

Whatever trials, tribulations or hardships

 we endure during our life they are not in vain.

Our suffering while here on earth 

is building up treasure for us in heaven.

Paul endured much suffering while

 he was ministering to the people.

He was tortured, imprisoned, beaten and starved

just to name a few of his hardships.

Paul never gave up he remained true to his calling...

he was resolved to do the will of God.

He believed that the reward for his faithfulness 

would come in the next life...

his life in heaven.

Consider this vision for a moment.

As you go through life with various hardships,

eventually many of them pass.

Suppose these difficulties where to be set in a pile?

Every time a hardship comes along 

I invite you to mentally put it

 into your personal 'pile of hardships'.

As time progresses some of your piles may be quite high.

Perhaps some are toppling off the sides

falling to the ground just to be noticed once again.

Some may be poking out the side of the pile.

...store up treasures in heaven... 

What if when we get to heaven, when our eyes are opened,

we discover that all of these things have been transformed.

What if what we believed to be hardships 

were actually turning to gold.

If we could only see the true beauty of our hardships

maybe we would not be so reluctant to accept them.

The treasures we store up in heaven 

are directly related to our life here on earth.

Whatever trials you are experiencing 

God will turn into gilded blessings.

There will be no more tears and suffering in heaven.

May God teach us to see our hardships

as building up our treasure in heaven.

~~~Peace~~~

Where is Your Treasure?

~~~ 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:19-23 ~~~

 

'...store up treasures in heaven...

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.'

 

What do you truly treasure?

Is it your friends and family? Is it your faith in God?

Is it your material possessions? Is it your social status? Is it your acquired wealth?

Is it your reputation? Is it your health?

Perhaps your answer is a combination of all of the above.

Our heart leads us to live with passion.

You cannot treasure something without having space for it in your heart.

 

A treasure holds specific value.

Something treasured is protected from damage.

 

After a natural disaster we often see people carefully

 combing through the remains of their life.

They are compelled to salvage whatever they can...

What they find now becomes their treasure.

Many come to treasure life itself a little more...just having survived.

 

Jesus wants us to look beyond our earthly treasures.

They will all pass away.

The treasures that matter most are not visible with the naked eye.

The treasures that matter most have one thing in common;

love is always part of the equation.

Only those treasures inspired by love can be stored in heaven.

We can only withdraw from our treasure chest of love.

Whatever else we think we have stored up will not survive...

only love will remain.

Love is more precious than gold, silver, or jewels.  

 

 

  And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

 

 I find this verse to be particularly disturbing.

If the only 'light' in your heart is darkness then you have no light.

If you have no light how then are you to see anything?

Physically our eyes need a light source to function properly.

 

Jesus is the light of the world without him we are truly 'in the dark'.

We are children of the light.

Treasure this light.

Let this light of Christ shine forth from your heart.

 

If you treasure his light it will be reflected out toward others.

If you have light in your heart it will seep out.

You cannot keep it contained. 

 

Blessings are in what you treasure within your heart.

Can you see them? 

What Treasures are Stored in Your Heart?

~~~ 2 Kings 11: 1-4, 9-18, 20 ~~~ Psalm 132 ~~~ Matthew 6: 19-23 ~~~

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

Just this part of the Gospel gives me plenty on which to reflect.

I know I am aprt of a group of individuals who store up too much stuff.

At one time or another everything I have decided to keep seemed to be a 'treasure'.

Granted it may not have been a true treasure just a perceived one at that time.

where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.

Years later as time passes on things that you thought were treasures no longer hold the same significance. Time changes us...our earthly treasures at least vary from year to year. Something I may have treasured in my younger days now  does not appear to be important. A couple years ago my sister's house was burgularized and watched how distraught she became over her things. Her computer alone stored many of her treasures. We take many of our treasure for granted until we no longer have them.

It is natural over time for things to decay. Old paper photographs can literally fall into many little pieces and eventually turn into dust. 

But store up treasures in heaven,

Here Jesus is saying...forget about all of those material earthly things you consider to be treasures. In reality these item are not your treasures nor should they be you treasures. Jesus purposefully included heaven in this verse. He knew that here on earth there is no place safe enough. So if I am to store treasures in heaven I must have a kind of hope chest. Treasures need to be stored in a protective safe. A fire proof place...a place bolted into the foundation.

 where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

 If our treasures are only material then we have no guarantee of keeping them completely safe. But if we look deep into our own heart there we can find the treasures that are most important. For if we only value and treasure earthly things; then our heart will forever be living in fear...the fear of losing these things.

Just last night I caught an interview with a woman who lost all of her earthly treasures in a house fire. She not only lost her things, but she also lost her three daughter and both of her parents. I have no idea how you go on after such a loss.

She spoke so beautifully about how her loved ones lived on in her heart.

For her, the treasures of her lost loved ones would always be preserved.

Stories such as this make me stop and take a mental inventory of what it is I truly treasure. What is in your heart is ultimately what you treasure.

What you store up in your heart for all eternity is safe from moths, decay, theives, and robbers. Nothing can remove a treasure from your heart you must freely let it go.

The treasures of the heart stored there day after day make you who you are.

These treasures make you a beloved daughter or son.

These treasures of the heart are fleshed out

in how you live all aspects of your life.



Today, I invite you to take inventory of what you have carefully stored in your heart.

Is there anything that you have stored which no longer contributes to your being a more loving person? If you do find something there that is no longer for your good; then sweep it away. You take control do not wait for the moths or thieves.

It is much better to do it for yourself.

Now is the time to become more aware of what treasures you are storing in your heart.

These treasures form you into who you are to be; they set the standard.



For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.