I arrived home from my Christmas
travels to find my back door kicked in and my jewelry box missing.
One of the first things I told the police was “They’re gonna be
really disappointed when they try to pawn my stuff. I didn’t have
much of value.” After the police left, I was reminded of Matthew
6:19-21 (ESV):
“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.”
At times like this, I know where my
treasure truly is. Sure, I’m disappointed in losing things that
were given to me by my grandparents and parents, but it doesn’t
break my heart. (This bothers me less than the workman I allowed into
my house who stole from me, because he pretended to be trustworthy.)
Ironically, I heard this from
Alistair Begg today as I was catching up on Truth for Life— “My Help Come From the Lord:”
“Luther said
in that great hymn*, ‘But though they take my goods, honor,
children, wife, yet is their profit small.’ Why is it small?
Because Luther says, ‘All I have is Christ.’ You see, where this
goes south for us is if we have not come to the point where all we
ultimately have is Christ... If my security, my confidence is in my
wealth... or if it’s in my health, or if it’s in my wife, then if
you take my wife, my wealth, or my health it’s a disaster. It has
to be. But if my security is in Christ, then though they take my
wife, goods, children, life, then is their profit small. Why? Because
my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”
On the tails of a season often
characterized by materialism, it’s a good reminder that our
greatest gifts are the intangible things of Christ. There is humility
to be found in knowing that worldly possessions don’t last and
don’t define us. I remember when I bought my car in 2001. I had
less than 200 miles on the odometer when a flying rock chipped the
windshield. It was (and still is) a visible reminder that I can’t
tie my happiness and pride to things that will disappear sooner or
later. Rocks, rust, thieves, disease, and all kinds of other things
will take their toll.
So I am thankful for the gifts that
never end:
- Salvation and forgiveness
- Reconciliation with God
- Having God as my Father, Jesus Christ as my Brother, and many siblings in the Body of Christ
- Eternal life in a perfect Kingdom
“Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place... In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in
all wisdom and insight...” (Ephesians 1:3, 7-8).
“...I know whom I have
believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day
what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12).
“Let us hold fast the
confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is
faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
(*The hymn he quotes is a more
literal translation of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”)
© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise
indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.
