Your Treasure-Your Heart

Devotions on Matthew 6:19-34

 

Monday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“For where your treasure is there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

 Heidi was a special education teacher. She loved her job, and as a follower of Jesus, Heidi thought that it was the vocation to which she had been called. When she received her paycheck, Heidi would always take out ten percent for her church offering. She also took out another ten percent and put it in her investment savings. Heidi always felt a little guilty when she did so. She wanted to make sure that her treasure was in the right place.

We are followers of Jesus who live in God’s kingdom while still on earth. Because of this, we discover that much of our walk of faith involves “both/and” rather than “either/or.” For Heidi this meant, as a good steward of God’s blessings, that she both gave to the poor and supported the work of her congregation AND saved. Her treasure was her relationship with God. With her heart in her spiritual treasure, her priority in life was not to save as much money as she could, but rather to serve God as best she could. Heidi’s treasure and priorities shaped her life into a truly abundant life.

May our treasure, Lord, always be you and may we seek to serve you above all else. Amen.

Tuesday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“So if your eye is healthy your whole body will be filled with light” (Matthew 6:27).

Sometimes ideas are lost in translations. One commentator points out that the word translated “healthy” could also be translated “generosity” and the word translated “unhealthy” could be translated “stinginess.” Suddenly verses that, at first appear out of place, make sense. We also understand the truth they convey.

The main character of George Eliot’s book, Silas Marner, is a miser. His only joy is found in collecting the profits from his weaving business. Silas is lonely and his life is lived in the darkness of self-centeredness. Events occur in Silas’ life that he becomes the guardian of a young girl, Eppie. His life is transformed—his darkness is turned into light—as his focus moves away from himself and on to raising and providing for his adoptive daughter.

The light shines in our lives, also, as we turn away from the darkness of selfishness and self-centeredness and focus on sharing our blessings of God’s love and grace with others.

Lord, shine in our lives and empower us to walk in the light. Amen.

Wednesday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24).

 All the instruments had been tuned and the band was ready to play. The teacher/conductor raised her baton and the music began on the downbeat. Within a few measures, however, the sweet melody of the song gave way to a cacophony of sound. The percussion section was not in sync with the conductor and the instrumentalists didn’t know whether to follow the wave of the baton or the beat of the drum.

There are times when we begin to feel as if we are in a similar situation as the band. Job and career pull us in one direction, while family responsibilities pull us in another. Our innate desire to accumulate and hoard comes into conflict with opportunities to share. We might like to say that we march to the beat of a different drummer, but there are times, in the battle of the bands, that we can’t distinguish drum beats.

Amidst the noise of our lives, Jesus comes to us, reaches out his hand and says, “Follow me.” We grab his hand and follow. God’s action in our lives may not take away all of the tension and confusion. We do, however, know who our master is and where we are going—wherever God leads us.

Lord, we follow you. Enable us to be both faithful and obedient. Amen.

Thursday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25).

The most frequently issued command in the Bible is, “Don’t fear.” We are not able to obey this command by simply deciding that we will not fear. Repeating the phrase, “I will not be scared,” over and over again doesn’t take away our fear. John writes in his first letter, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Embraced in God’s love, fear melts away. Lack of fear ceases to be a work of our will and becomes a gift of God’s love.

Worry is fear of the future. Again, worry does not flee because we decide not to worry. Rather, our worry is silenced when God’s whispers to our hearts assurance of God’s presence and assertions of God’s love for us—a love that will never change or go away.

Lord, speak your love to our hearts and calm our fears and our worries. Amen.

Friday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“And can any of you worrying add a single hour to your span of life” (Matthew 6:27)?

Driving on Wisconsin roads during the evening hours, it is common to come across a herd of deer grazing along the road or standing in the middle of it. When the car’s headlights catch a deer, it freezes—paralyzed by fear, confusion or both. Such a situation can prove deadly.

Worry has a paralyzing effect on us. Something very similar to what happens to a deer caught in a car’s headlights occurs in our lives. We don’t know what to do and the joy of life is taken away from us. We can only wait for disaster to strike.

In such a situation, it is helpful for us to take the advice of the gospel writer (and follow the words of Jesus) to consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. God the Creator cares for them, just like God cares for us. Our worry will not help—it won’t add an hour to our lives. There are times, also, when our efforts are not able to change the object of our worry. We can only rest in God’s love and trust that God holds us in God’s hands and will care for us.

Lord, move within us so that our worries decrease and our praises increase as we consider the works of your hands and your great love. Amen.

Saturday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“Strive first for the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).

Juan and Jolene enjoyed jogging. They decided to take their participation in the sport a step further and enter a marathon. They would train together and run the marathon together. It would be some quality couple time. They didn’t realize the training commitment that such a goal required. Running became their major activity in the months preceding the marathon, but their training paid off and both completed the marathon. Any Olympic athlete can tell you that to compete at that level takes a dedication that involves every aspect of their lives.

God’s kingdom isn’t like the marathon or the Olympics. The kingdom of God is free. It is God’s gift to us. God’s kingdom was given to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We do not need any special papers or a list of specific accomplishments. While there is nothing we need to do to live in God’s kingdom, we are told, at the same time, to strive first for the kingdom of God. We have a paradox.

In God’s kingdom, we rejoice in God’s steadfast love and overwhelming grace. Such love compels us to act—to strive to live lives befitting God’s kingdom. The actions, which God’s love motivates us to do, vary with each and every follower of Jesus. Jesus summed them up, however, when he shared the two greatest commandments—“To love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strengths and to love our neighbors like ourselves” (Matthew 22:37). The world becomes a different place when we all strive first for the kingdom of God.

Lord, may we seek you first above all else. Amen.

 

Sunday–Your Treasure-Your Heart

“Tomorrow will bring worries of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

Tomorrows are like cell phones. Cell phones have become the modern day distractions. We are so busy working with them that we don’t know where we are going.  Staring at them, we bump into people. We trip and fall. People try to drive and use their cell phones at the same time only to discover that accidents are sure to happen. Families sit together at dinner tables. They don’t talk, instead they text. Our cell phones keep us from experiencing much of life.

Tomorrows work the same way. We focus our hopes, our plans or our fears on tomorrow. When we do this, we miss out on today. We don’t see, hear, smell, taste or feel what is going on around us. Today is a gift that can’t be experienced and enjoyed when we are already living in tomorrow.

Jesus’ words remind us that tomorrow will soon become today. At that time, we can experience all that it has to offer. Until that time, Jesus reminds us that today is God’s gift to us—a gift to be received, relished and remembered.

Thank you for the gift of today, Lord. Enable us to experience it and enjoy it in its fullness. Amen.