Treasures of the Heart

Well. Here I am, and these past few weeks have been great. Let me just start off by saying that I have yet to get behind in my school assignments. Now, you might say, “Kayla, you’re only 3 weeks in. How could you possibly be behind anyway?” Hmm, my friend, the field I am in is so quickly paced…trust me, it is easy to lag behind. But the Lord has been faithful to keep my mind focused and disciplined. Not to mention, I LOVE my classes this semester! And perhaps the fact that I deactivated FB has helped as well. Which, I will totally give credit to the Lord because it is only by His grace that I was able to click that [deactivate] button! I have found since then that I was a slave to FB. And when I ponder even the title of this website, “A Free Slave,” being a slave to an online social network is not a free state at all! It was a time-sink and I became a sluggard because of it. Not to mention, it was a good and secretive way to keep the latest tabs on people…and by good I actually mean sneaky and bad (you know it’s true…girls AND guys).

Not long after I waved, “So long!” at good ‘ol FB, I was scheduled to go into work. Now, I work in retail, so I am CONSTANTLY bombarded with materialism. I was working the sales floor when I noticed a man looking confusingly at some of our products (ha!). I approached him to see if he needed any help and he said in a foreign accent, “Well, I am looking for gifts to take back home.” So, I smiled and said, “Ok, well, if you have any questions about our products, I’ll be around to help you.”

“Well, I am looking for gifts to take back home.”

That simple statement struck such a different chord in me that is still ringing out today. When I think of “home” I think of a few places. I think of my parents’ home where I grew up, I also think of my new home in BR, and even sometimes I still think of my former home in CenLa. I don’t have a permanent home here. And actually, none of us do. Fact: we will all die, and when we do, we cannot take any of these things with us. In light of this, I began to assess my life and the things in which I place my value. And not only this, but when I do indeed arrive to my permanent home with Christ, will there be treasures stored up there? Will He say, “Kayla, from the looks of this, I can see that your heart has been here, in My kingdom, and not in the world, from where you were called to be in but not of.”

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12: 32-34

Sure, I like to have nice things and to be culturally and socially acceptable. Who doesn’t? But does my heart also lie here? Is this where my joy comes from? Is this where my security comes from?

In verses before these (verses 22-31), Jesus is teaching the people where their hearts are to be set.

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

I especially love when Jesus says to consider the ravens. I am reminded of this often when I’m driving and see birds in the sky or perched on the side of the road. I think, “Wow, they really don’t even know what worry is…and God sustains them!” Jesus is saying that if God would care for a bird, then HOW MUCH MORE WILL HE CARE ABOUT HIS CHILDREN? God graciously gives us all things, whether they seem good or bad (Romans 8:28).

The alternative to worry and to earthly, temporary treasure is to SEEK THE LORD AND HIS KINGDOM. He says this in verse 31 and it is also recorded in Matthew’s Gospel.

Whatever is filling my mind is also what I am filling my eternal home with. As the body of Christ and the instrument the Lord chooses to use to further His Kingdom, are we doing just that? Am I living my life daily so that more people are coming to a saving knowledge of Christ? This is difficult, no doubt. The enemy is crafty in his schemes to destroy the Church and God’s plan (and I am convinced he uses western culture to blind the American Church), but Christ already has the victory, right? Is our faith in His victory? Is MY faith in His victory? Is my treasure in the Kingdom of God or is it in earthly possessions that I can’t even take with me? Am I more concerned about hoarding possessions here or taking more people with me into the Kingdom of God?

Oh, Jesus! Help me to be single-minded, and mute the persuasions of this world!