Treasure Seekers

Think with me for a second…What is the one thing in this world you CAN NOT live without? Without thinking twice, chances are something jumped into your head. 

Good grades? 

GPA?

A girl/boyfriend? 

Your car? 

Parent's approval? 

Money?

The list could be a million miles long so I'll make it a little bit easier for you…

I CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT _____________________________________.

What would you fill in that blank with?

We are all born treasure seekers.

We naturally desire the things that bring us comfort no matter how silly they may seem. As followers of Jesus, we're cautioned against putting our treasure in the things of this world. We are cautioned against the treasures we seek physically and mentally. 

In fact, Jesus himself warned us against treasure seeking the things of this world.

Let's take a look at Matthew 6:19-21

 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

If what you placed in the blank earlier was an earthly treasure, take time to think. Seek your heart. Why do you value this earthly treasure more than a heavenly treasure?

(If you need to, now would be a good time to talk to Jesus and repent if necessary.)

Jesus didn't bring us this news to cause us to feel helpless or to despair. He shared this with us because he came to bring us life and bring it to use in abundance(John 10:10)! Jesus knows in order to have life in abundance, we must not put too much faith in treasure that will be destroyed, but ETERNAL TREASURE guarded in Heaven by our Great High Priest! Hidden where neither moth nor rust can destroy! 

Isn't that incredible??

I believe there is a reason why Jesus warned us against this. If we have our hearts set on earthly things, then when treasures of heaven step into the picture, our vision will be distorted.

It's kind of like trying to take a picture of the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen in your life but leaving the lens cap on, or having splotches of mud on your lens. It distorts the beauty of what actually exist and causes us to not see in its full glory the treasures that lay ahead for us in heaven.

So in telling us that we should not seek and store up our treasures in earthly things, Jesus is promising that something better exist on the other than what we experience here. He is taking the action of helping us "clean the lens" in which we see and define our treasures. He's helping us remove the lens cap to see what true treasure is.

I want to encourage you to evaluate your earthly treasure. Take a deep hard look into where your treasure lies and remember the words of our precious and kind Savior a little later on in Matthew 6:33

"Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you."