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| Vol. 15 No. 8 August 2013 | Page 14 |
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| Vol. 15 No. 8 August 2013 | Page 14 |
John Stacy
A Jewish Rabbi told his students that they should repent the day before they die. One student said, “But Master, we do not know when we are going to die.” “Then you should repent today,” replied the Rabbi. We know that we are going to die (Hebrews 9:27). We do not know when we are going to die. Solomon said in Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what that day will bring forth.” David declared in 1 Samuel 20:3, “…there is but a step between me and death.” Since we don’t know when our spirits will be separated from our bodies, then we should obey the Gospel now! We should be restored if need to be, now! “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Wade Webster
Someone observed, “If your treasure is on earth, you are going from it; if it is in heaven, you are going to it” (Blanchard, John. Gathered Gold. Durham, England: Evangelical Press, 1989, p. 271). Are we going from or going to our treasures? I believe that this is a question that each of us needs to seriously consider.
The New Testament makes it clear that our treasure is supposed to be in heaven. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). It seems clear that many in Jesus’ day had their treasures on the earth. For them, life was all about the treasures that they had here (Luke 12:15). Mammon was their master (Matthew 6:24).
The rich young ruler is a great example of a man who had his treasure upon the earth. Matthew records, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:16-22). For the rich young ruler, following Jesus was going from rather than to his treasures.
I am afraid that many today are like the rich young ruler. The journey to heaven would involve going from rather than to their treasures. Their affections are on things on the earth, rather than on things in heaven (Colossians 3:2). Let’s never forget that whatever treasures we have here will one day be left behind. The only things that we will have for eternity are the things that we have laid up in heaven.