Treasure Hunters – Part 3

Today is the third of our 3-part message on Treasure Hunters.  Jesus cautioned His disciples, “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).  In this brief but penetrating passage, Jesus sets forth four powerful truths that relate to treasure hunting.  Today we will complete our message with the third and fourth truth.

TRUTH #3

The third truth is framed in the divine “abstain/advance” imperative from Jesus.  Jesus warns us to abstain from pursuing earth-bound little kingdom treasures and to advance in the direction of pursuing heaven-bound big kingdom treasures.  The Apostle Paul passed this truth on to his young assistant, Timothy: “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

TRUTH #4

The fourth truth makes it clear that what we pursue and possess ultimately pursues and possesses us.  It is a matter of the heart; “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

It was a matter of the heart for both Adam and Eve.  With hearts made for God, they both sought to satisfy their deepest longings in something other than God, something that could never satisfy them, and all humanity has been on a downward spiral ever since.  Satan promised Adam and Eve something they already had—life, and instead they received something they were never intended to experience—death.  This is always the result of chasing after the wrong kind of treasure.  The promise on the front end is attractive and enticing, but at the end of the day, it inevitably leads to some kind of death. 

When we hunt for treasure outside of the only treasure that was meant to satisfy us, we are never satisfied. “The Preacher,” author of Ecclesiastes, is considered by many scholars to be none other than King Solomon, whose vast accumulation of wealth eclipsed that of any other Israelite king, yet his heart was led astray from God. His testimony is illustrative:

Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Apart from God, everything is hollow, empty, and woefully less than God’s best for our lives.  Settling for something smaller than God is settling for a life smaller than God intended for us to live.  It is living a life for nothing bigger than life itself.  C.S. Lewis rightly observed in Mere Christianity:

If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next.  The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who build up the Middle Ages, the English who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven.  It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have becomes so ineffective in this one.  Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’; aim at earth and you will get neither.

 It all comes down to identifying what we are living for in this life.  When we seek the treasures of earth, we live for nothing more than the life we are living.  When we seek the treasures of heaven we live for something so much more than the life we are living.  Living in the light of eternity causes us to pursue treasures that create eternal investments.  This is living a life shaped by Christ and His kingdom, which brings a satisfaction that transcends anything we could ever find in the pursuit of anything smaller than God Himself.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!