Where is your treasure?
“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.” Matthew 6:19-21
As human beings we invest everything we have in this world into making ends meet and getting as much as we can out of life. This is understandable but also tragic, as nothing in this world is eternal. Eventually, death will take everything from us. As Ecclesiastes 1:14 states, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.” However, it is EVEN MORE TRAGIC when those who have become children of God through faith in Jesus, and have inherited an eternal home, hold the same perspective as those who do not know God and whose only hope and prospects are those of this life.
It is shocking that the love of possessions, success and reputation are almost as prevalent among disciples of Jesus as they are among unbelievers in today’s godless society.
Possessions, success and reputation are not bad things in themselves; they are often an expression of God’s blessings, as God is always the giver of all good things. But they can harbour big temptations. In Psalm 62:10 we read, “. . . if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.”
Yet one’s heart may already be set on the things of this world, and the extent of one’s love for possessions isn’t dependent on their size. God’s Word warns us in Matthew 16:26: “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Jesus then says loud and clear, “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.” – Matthew 6:19-21
This devotional is taken from the book To See God by Marcel Rebiai. If you would like to order your own copy, please email us here, [email protected].
Marcel Rebiai is a board member of Revive Israel, and is inspiration for our community. Marcel was born in Algiers in 1953. He came to Switzerland as a war orphan and received faith in Jesus in his youth, which changed his life and made him a messenger of God’s love in Jesus. Since then, he has been faithfully working for the building of the community of Messiah. Marcel is the founder of the “Community of Reconciliation”, an organization that works for reconciliation between Jews and Arabs based on God’s forgiveness and love in Christ. Marcel teaches in various settings around the world about the love that God revealed to us in Jesus, a love that enables reconciliation. Marcel has been living in Jerusalem for the last 30 years, is married to Regula, and has four children and eleven grandchildren.
