Day 24: Saver + #FMF Assume
Singing My Way Through Write 28 Days
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“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
Saver of Treasure
“I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today
~I’d Rather Have Jesus~
I’m a saver. Not so much of “stuff,” but rather of memories…cards, letters, photographs, drawings, newspaper articles…you get the idea. Somewhere along the way, I began tucking my most precious keepsakes into my Bible to preserve them. It seemed like a great place at first. But as time passed, it became so full of treasures that it was impossible to effectively use my Bible anymore. So instead of opening it regularly to study, there it sat, stuffed full, closed on the table. Those cherished bits and pieces slid between the pages of God’s Word now assumed a more important place than, well, God’s Word.
Isn’t that what can happen in life too? We are savers of what’s important to us…money, status, followers, our appearance, our homes, our skills…or a multitude of other things. We fill our days protecting these things until we become so crammed full of the world, that our hearts are closed off to what’s really important. We’ve placed so much between ourselves and our relationship with God, that we’ve allowed those things to assume a more influential role in our lives than, well, God.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
So, where is my heart? Where’s yours? Clinging tightly to the past? Working hard at all cost? Desiring more money, attention, or possessions? Obsessed with coming in first, keeping up with others, or always being right? Jesus tells us in the verses above that these worldly “treasures” are temporary, here today and gone tomorrow. Filling all the spaces of our lives with them just leaves our hearts ineffective and closed off just like my Bible sitting on a table.
I am glad to say that I finally decided to stop stuffing my treasures into that Bible. I put it away and got a new one so that now, I can be a saver of the wealth of God’s Word. The good news is we can do the same with our hearts.
“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3: 1-4 (NIV)
When we decide that we’d rather have Jesus and an eternity with Him in glory, all that we’ve been clinging to, the moth chewed, varmint destroyed, thief stolen things the world affords today don’t seem nearly so valuable, and our hearts? They can now assume the most incomparable position of all, “hidden with Christ in God.” Now that’s the perfect place for our treasure!
Thank you, Cindy. You speak to another ‘saver’ (though with me I call it hoarding) but you are very correct. Nothing should assume the rightful place of God in our hearts. Amen.#20
A truck that hasn’t run in years,
lost somewhere in the head-high grass;
a letter stained with bitter tears,
preserved forever under glass.
A bowling bag, its zipper broke,
the ball within exposed
and memories it does evoke
of lanes now long-since closed.
Ticket stubs kept in a book
that’s not been read of late;
I wonder, just how did she look,
that long-forgotten date?
I really don’t know why I let
it stay, ‘cept not wanting to forget.
What a powerful illustration of how we can let the good things crowd out the best thing. Thank you for sharing.
I love that you stored your treasures in your Bible and that you have such a tender heart toward things like pictures and poems and notes that you hold close. I see your point and understand your perspective. I definitely agree that a new Bible was a great idea and returned you to consistent.study of God’s word. And you also got to save your treasures in inside your treasure.
Amen! Deirdre FMF #19
What a great object lesson reminding us to save eternal treasure! ❤️
FMF#17
My children got a surprise one day when they knocked one of my Bibles off of a bookcase and a bunch of papers, pressed flowers and other items I saved fell out. I love the verse about being hidden with Christ in God. I hope that you have a lovely weekend.
Oh, Cindy! This is so good! Why does it always seem to take trials and hard times to make us realize that all we need is Jesus–not the stuff we cling to and save. Just Jesus.