Jesus tells us to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6), and we read that passage, nod our heads and say an "amen" in our hearts, but then continue on our merry way. However, the fact of the matter is that laying up treasures in heaven doesn't merely consist of making the church kids memorize the catechism and throwing a tenth of your income in the collecting plate on Sunday (as good as those things are). Storing up treasures in heaven is a mindset, a soulset if you will, and it's one we often don't have. Because the fact of the matter is that storing up treasures in heaven almost always comes at the expense of storing up treasures on earth and let's face it: earthly treasures sure look a lot more appealing, take less time and commitment, are less awkward, and often less painful.
If we were really concerned about living like Jesus taught we might consider doing like Jesus did.
I know people say that and we all smile and think yea, but we can't do everything Jesus did, and then shove that concept out the window. No, we can't die for other people's sins, but there are things that Jesus did that we can copy.
Jesus ate with sinners. That's actually a huge statement. He didn't just eat with sinners who confessed their sins and who knew the Bible stories. If He was bodily on earth today He would be eating with the drug dealers, the woman who's thinking about her fourth abortion and doesn't even know who the father is, people who smell like sweat and smoke and something else that isn't quite right. But we often don't have opportunity to eat with people like that because we're too busy watching sports and going shopping to frequent downtown areas where the down-and-outers live and share sandwiches with them.
Jesus saw the real problem. Levi/Matthew's big problem was not that he was a tax collector. His big problem was that he wasn't following Jesus. Jesus changes that by telling him to "follow me" and when people follow Jesus they need to leave their sins behind. That's the same message the church offers. Follow Jesus. And in following Jesus people receive so much more than whatever they were doing before.
I fail to understand the point of building sanctuaries that cost millions and will be gone in a few years when our brothers and sisters across the world are starving because they can't even buy a potato, when the children of our country are being raised by the state because the church has forgotten it's call to adopt and foster, and when no one from the gay community would dare step into such a structure for fear of the judgement that comes from the people inside.
I think we need to ask ourselves why we are here on earth anyway.
Helping our starving brother comes at a price; like not getting a new pair of shoes this month in order to give $30 so his family can eat. Fostering children comes at a cost; like not looking like a perfect family and a huge amount of emotional, physically, and sometimes spiritual strain. Reaching a gay person comes at a cost; like making a meal and putting aside our pride to meet them where they are at. The sin is not first of all sexual orientation: it's not following Jesus.
And this is the sin of us all because to store up earthly treasures is to not follow Jesus. I propose that it's time we cooled it with the book studies and started to pray. And then having prayed to go into our communities and share the gospel. To eat with people, literally. To forget about the stained glass windows and new carpet and hardwood flooring and to plant churches in the down towns where the poor (materially and spiritually) dwell. To give up our comfort zones and go out to spiritual warfare where the fight is fierce and the battle long but the victory is sure.
Storing up treasures in heaven is a life long battle. Fruit is often slow to grow. So don't grow weary with the work. Obedience itself is a treasure to God. When you think about it, ever moment is a moment to choice to store up earthly or heavenly treasures. The earthly ones may look cool but the heavenly ones will be forever.
What will this generation leave behind?
Perhaps more importantly, what will we trade so we can take something better with?
If we were really concerned about living like Jesus taught we might consider doing like Jesus did.
I know people say that and we all smile and think yea, but we can't do everything Jesus did, and then shove that concept out the window. No, we can't die for other people's sins, but there are things that Jesus did that we can copy.
Jesus ate with sinners. That's actually a huge statement. He didn't just eat with sinners who confessed their sins and who knew the Bible stories. If He was bodily on earth today He would be eating with the drug dealers, the woman who's thinking about her fourth abortion and doesn't even know who the father is, people who smell like sweat and smoke and something else that isn't quite right. But we often don't have opportunity to eat with people like that because we're too busy watching sports and going shopping to frequent downtown areas where the down-and-outers live and share sandwiches with them.
Jesus saw the real problem. Levi/Matthew's big problem was not that he was a tax collector. His big problem was that he wasn't following Jesus. Jesus changes that by telling him to "follow me" and when people follow Jesus they need to leave their sins behind. That's the same message the church offers. Follow Jesus. And in following Jesus people receive so much more than whatever they were doing before.
I fail to understand the point of building sanctuaries that cost millions and will be gone in a few years when our brothers and sisters across the world are starving because they can't even buy a potato, when the children of our country are being raised by the state because the church has forgotten it's call to adopt and foster, and when no one from the gay community would dare step into such a structure for fear of the judgement that comes from the people inside.
I think we need to ask ourselves why we are here on earth anyway.
Helping our starving brother comes at a price; like not getting a new pair of shoes this month in order to give $30 so his family can eat. Fostering children comes at a cost; like not looking like a perfect family and a huge amount of emotional, physically, and sometimes spiritual strain. Reaching a gay person comes at a cost; like making a meal and putting aside our pride to meet them where they are at. The sin is not first of all sexual orientation: it's not following Jesus.
And this is the sin of us all because to store up earthly treasures is to not follow Jesus. I propose that it's time we cooled it with the book studies and started to pray. And then having prayed to go into our communities and share the gospel. To eat with people, literally. To forget about the stained glass windows and new carpet and hardwood flooring and to plant churches in the down towns where the poor (materially and spiritually) dwell. To give up our comfort zones and go out to spiritual warfare where the fight is fierce and the battle long but the victory is sure.
Storing up treasures in heaven is a life long battle. Fruit is often slow to grow. So don't grow weary with the work. Obedience itself is a treasure to God. When you think about it, ever moment is a moment to choice to store up earthly or heavenly treasures. The earthly ones may look cool but the heavenly ones will be forever.
What will this generation leave behind?
Perhaps more importantly, what will we trade so we can take something better with?
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