What do you treasure above all else? Before you answer, first consider these questions:
- What do I daydream about most?
- What do I spend the most time wishing I was doing?
Why not ask, what do I do most and what do I spend the most time thinking about? Because to a lot of people, the answer is “work.” And while work is what people are inclined to think about most often, because it is what they spend the bulk of their time doing, it is rarely what they want to think about and is rarely what they want to be doing.
In my Wednesday night Bible classes, I often use outdoor photos from places all over the world in my PowerPoint presentations. The photos I use are of places that I would like to go. Typically, they are tropical beaches.
At the heart of the matter, I don’t truly long for the beaches in the photos. I’ve been to tropical beaches and what the pictures don’t show are the bugs, heat, smells and people. They are not all they are cracked up to be. Nothing in this world is. I think what I desire most is an idyllic environment, a place of perfection. Heaven.
So many Christians spend so much time trying to make this life as enjoyable as possible instead of focusing on laying up treasure in the life to come. I can see the world getting caught up in this line of thinking, but for Christians this shouldn’t be.
We should understand that a bigger house, newer car, better clothes and more vacations don’t bring us true joy and happiness but instead create a greater, self-seeking appetite for more and more.
A line in a song I like says, “The more I have, the more I think, I’m almost where I need to be…If only I could get a little more.” That’s the trap, that nagging sensation of, “I need just a little more.”
Jesus wants us to shift our focus from the here-and-now to the there-and-when. He doesn’t want us to live in poverty or to be wealthy or to be somewhere in between. However much we have in this life, He simply (but not so simply for us) desires that our focus be on heavenly pursuits. He expects that I use whatever He has blessed me with for higher, heavenly purposes. Paul says simply in Colossians 3:2,
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
We will discuss this topic on Sunday morning; I can’t wait! Much love to you all!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
