Week 11 (30.11.08)

This week we looked at the passage in the Bible that tells us to store our treasures in Heaven, not on Earth; and goes on to tell us not to worry but to put all our trust in the Lord.

In this passage (Matthew 6:19-34), Jesus tells us that everything around us on Earth is temporary and may be destroyed or stolen (verse 19), so we should instead "Store up for [ourselves] treasures in Heaven" because this treasure will never fade or be ruined (verse 20). He then says that "Where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also," so if we believe that we are Christians, we should be wanting God not things on Earth: our hearts and minds should be always on him and wanting to be with him. If we are obsessed with or even care about earthly 'riches' then this is where our hearts will be: Heaven would be a strange and unknown place to us. The next two verses talk about the eye being the "Lamp of the body," Jesus says "If your eyes are good, your whole body will be filled with light, but if your eyes are bad your whole body will be full of darkness." We talked about how Jesus was saying that what you looked to defined who you were: if you were always looking to your earthly possessions and wanting to increase or protect them, then you are not seeking God and therefore cannot have your heart in the right place. However, if you are always looking to God for direction and following him in all you do, you heart loves God and you will be full of his light. Verse 24 tells us that we cannot be devoted to two masters, that we "cannot love both God and Money." This tells us plainly that if we really do love earthly things and build our world around them, we cannot also love God. We have to make a choice.

Then Jesus goes on to talk about worry. He reminds us of the birds in the air, saying that "They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet [our] heavenly Father feeds them." He tells us that we are much more important than the birds and so what cause do we have for worrying about whether or not we will have enough to eat? He also says we shouldn't worry about whether or not we will have enough clothes, reminding us that our heavenly Father dresses even the lilies of the field so of course he will make sure we have everything we need as he knows what we need and how to provide it, and we are far more important to him than flowers. Jesus also asks us, "Who among you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Showing that not only is it not trusting God when we worry, because it's not accepting that he is Lord over our lives and able to give us all we need, but it is also futile: what will we achieve by worrying about things? Nothing. Jesus says, "The pagans run after these things," showing that if we chase earthly things and let them occupy our minds, we are behaving like those who do not follow God. Jesus tells us that, rather than worrying about keeping everything in control ourselves, we should "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to [us] as well." In other words, if we stay within his will and seek him in our lives, we know God will give us all we need to carry out his will. If we deviate from the path of righteousness or stop acting to bring his Kingdom to Earth, we probably have more reason to worry because we are relying on ourselves rather than the One who can really look after us. Finally, in verse 34, Jesus says that we should not "Worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." This reminds us that we should live for God in the hear and now and not let ourselves think about what the future might bring but instead make sure we are doing all we can to bring God glory today.

Lois and Eleanor