"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – (Matthew 6:19-21)
Right after this verse about our treasure, Jesus says something that seems out of place. Sandwiched between this statement about treasure in heaven and the one about serving two masters is this:
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” – (Matthew 6:22-23)
Why is this here? Why is Jesus suddenly talking about our eyes and about light and darkness in the middle of a teaching about money and where we put our treasure?
I think it’s because Jesus is touching on the deeper meaning of our struggles. We put our hope in money because our hearts are full of darkness. We store up our treasures here on the earth because we do not have the light of God in our hearts. We set our eyes on what we can see and touch here in this life because we don’t see how much greater the treasure of the Kingdom of God really is.
The things we see with our eyes, in the here and now, can blind us to what is really most valuable in the Kingdom of God. If we could really be filled with the light of God, then we wouldn’t have any trouble recognizing how utterly worthless the treasures of this world really are. We would clearly recognize that the treasure of the Kingdom of God is worth selling everything and giving whatever it takes to enter into it.
Jesus uses the treasure metaphor again in the Gospel of Matthew. In chapter 13, verse 44 he says:
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
In this case, the treasure is the Kingdom itself. When the man finds the treasure of the Kingdom of God he runs “in his joy” to quickly sell all that he owns in order to obtain the field where the treasure is hidden.
The cost of the Kingdom is everything, but in comparison to the treasure we receive in return, all that we have in this life is worthless and empty.
Have you seen the Kingdom like this? Do you see the difference between the things of this world and the things of God? Are you eager to run and sell it all, give it all away, pay whatever the price may be, in order to be part of that Kingdom?
Set your heart on the Kingdom of God, and make sure your treasure is found wherever Jesus is Lord.
-kg
1 comment:
A good friend of mine talks about having "elevated sight", or being able to see the world more from God's perspective than from our own. The more that I walk in elevated sight the less I want the things of this world, the less I'm affected by the things of this world, and the more I want Him. I think this is the same concept that you are talking about, and I love how that understanding brings "light" to that verse, because I have always wondered about that passage. Without an understanding of how great Christ is, of the riches found in Him, and the hope and healing found in Him, we will only find "death", i.e. find ourselves continually stuck in our worldly pursuits, etc. Thanks for the post, brother!
Mark
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