“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Matthew 6:19-20

Do you collect things? Do you collect baseball cards, coins, stamps, baskets, or old “tin type” pictures? Interesting to think that, although we believe these are our collections, when we die, they become someone else’s collection. And if our children are not interested in whatever we collected, they will either gather dust at the bottom of a box, or they will be sold for a fraction of what we think they are worth. The things we value in this life, often mean nothing for our time in the life to come. Jesus mentioned this concept, specifically, when he said “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….not things that on this earth will just rust, or get stolen.” The treasures that we seek to pile up in heaven never lose their worth – they can never be stolen – they will never lose their luster. The question becomes: can we really stockpile them in heaven – or is this just a metaphor?

Well, in our Lutheran tradition, we do not believe that we are earning our way to heaven – we believe that it takes faith only, faith in G-d’s amazing Grace through the cross of Jesus. As such, because we are so appreciative of this gift of Grace, we are called to live lives of service. It is through our offering forgiveness limitlessly, in loving unconditionally, and in serving without question that we show our love for G-d and how much we value Grace. 

In the gospel of Mark, we read that the Lord tested the rich young ruler’s heart when he was asked to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus. The ruler’s response revealed what he really valued – just as the writer of 1 Timothy states “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” 1 Timothy 6:10

We need to remember that it is the joy of serving, the satisfaction of being someone else’s “thankful” where we see glimpses of eternal life.

The treasures of earth do not last,
But God has prepared us a place
Where someday with Him we will dwell,
Enjoying the riches of grace.  — Dave Branon

Pastor Dave

“Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.” Psalm 105:2-3

Have you ever visited a national park, like Yellowstone, or Glacier National Park? There are signs all over these parks telling people not to feed the animals, not to pet the animals, and not to try to take pictures with the animals. I know the danger of trying to get between a mother Moose and her calf – apparently a lot of people do not.

Some of the animals get so accustomed to being fed by the visitors (even though we are not to feed the animals) that they starve to death – they “forget” how to forage for their own food.

Ever wish you could get a few spiritual handouts from G-d? A lot of us are like those animals in the parks when it comes to walking with Jesus. We’d like to have everything handed to us, straight from G-d—no questions asked. We keep looking for those divine snacks of His direct involvement in our lives – that is if we are not too busy on our phones and other devices to realize G-d is active in our lives. Let me tell you, we need to be aware of G-d’s “active” presence in our lives because those special moments can be fleeting. When G-d is reaching directly into our lives, we need to be aware, thankful, and in awe.

Too many people view G-d like they do their Senator or Congresswoman. It is true, we are more apt to vote for someone when they have “actively” done something that directly affects our community, our church, our business or our development. Of course, these elected officials do a lot of good (and of course can do a lot of evil) that has nothing to do with us directly. That does not mean that they are not being active, or doing a lot of good. The same is true with our relationship with G-d – it can be tempting to measure the quality of our relationship with G-d by the frequency and intensity of divine interventions. But this leaves us prone to the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?” attitude. When G-d doesn’t live up to our expectations, we get bogged down in discouragement, doubt, and even spiritual dysfunctional.

This is what makes some of the stories from the Bible hard to read. For example, when Abraham and Sarah were too old to have a baby, G-d intervened and did something really spectacular. Later, when G-d told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, G-d showed up in a miraculous way and spared Isaac’s life. So, it’s easy to wonder why G-d is not as liberal with giveaways in our lives as with Abraham. But before you think Abraham had an edge, remember that the recorded interventions of G-d with Abraham averaged about one every 15 years! Just imagine being Abraham and going 15 years with no word from G-d.

That is why we need to be on the look out for those G-d moments – because they are few and far between. G-d wants a relationship with us; wants us to love G-d without an expectation that we will receive some divine “handout” like our dog expects when we shake his hand.

It would be a major distortion of our view of Christianity to see G-d as our sugar daddy, ready to jump every time we thought we needed a handout. I sometimes wonder if heaven has a sign that says, “Don’t feed the Christians!” with the fine print reading, “They’ll think it’s all about the goodies”!

Have you ever tried to relate with someone who has the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” attitude? How did it affect your relationship? How does this attitude affect a person’s relationship with God?

Are you hungry for a demonstration of God’s power? Read Job 38–41. How does this passage satisfy your desire?

Pastor Dave