May 25 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

True Christians are to have a heart that is aflame with love and devotion for the Lord. That enthusiasm for God becomes apparent in what we do with our possessions and material goods. In Matthew 6:19-24 Christ speaks about where we invest our treasures. Do we put our heart in the investments of an earthly stock market or do we place our stocks in the economy of the kingdom of heaven? Where we set our heart and affections is a critical and vital issue. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (6:21) We need to invest treasures in the right place. All our activities are to be subservient to this one goal. If we seek the things that are above where Christ is and invest in the kingdom of heaven, then that is where our hearts will be. Money, wealth and possessions will not be a hindrance but a help in advancing Christian service.

When considering treasures on earth we may be thinking in terms of dollars and cents, bank accounts and investments. These things are included, but there is more. The treasures of earth lie in the realm of tangible, material things. Whatever we find to be of great importance is our treasure.

Christ cautions us not to put our heart into earthly investments. Earthly things will not last because they are vulnerable. Moths can put holes into your clothing, rust wrecks your vehicle, a thief can break into your home and steal your most valuable possessions. Jesus uses imagery to indicate all earthly treasures will ultimately perish. What moths and rust do not get, thieves can take away. We may put aside money to be financially secure once we retire but if the market crashes and money loses all its value, our earthly treasure goes up in smoke. We can put shares into a booming business but it can go bankrupt. We can lose our job or our health very quickly. The greatest thief which takes away everything is death.

Even if we are extremely rich, at the end of our life we will die poor if we have not invested in the economy of heaven. Our earthly treasures will be given to someone else. Earthly treasures perish, no matter how hard we try to hang on to them. But the treasures we have in Christ are so different; they have everlasting value. Keep investing in heavenly treasures.