Daily Devotions – Treasure in heaven

Daily Devotions – Treasure in heaven

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:  

Mark 10:17-22 (ESV)

The Rich Young Man

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

About one fourth of all the things that Jesus said had something to do with wealth, possessions, or money. Jesus did this because our relationship with our wealth is the most accurate window into the health of our soul. As I said in yesterday’s sermon, we will never be truly free and generous with our earthly treasure until our relationship with Jesus is our true treasure. This is what treasure in heaven is. It’s not like whenever we do good deeds God is adding gold to our storage locker in heaven. Rather, when we are generous with the poor and the underserving the presence and life of Jesus is alive in us, and that is our treasure. What do you have which is ‘owning’ your heart that you need to give away in order to fully experience the joy of knowing Jesus?