Laying up treasure in heaven

This seems to be ideal time to blog... I had earlier posted about setting my minds on things above and ended with a question mark to myself on what actually should be the things above... Having given it sometime to digest, I have finally come to a reasonable answer (at least how I understand it and relate to it personally)

Firstly, I must give thanks to God. Right now, at this very moment, I seem to be going through a wonderful period of my Christian journey... You see, I have just started work a completely new environment, recruitment!!! Praise the Lord. While the job itself does come with lots of challenges, I won't be elaborating them at this time, I have been enjoying a lot other things that come with the work.

One of the most significant thing, the most important "benefit" is that I get a chance to go on public transport, i.e. being able to take bus to work. You may think that it is a chore and it such a tiring journey but somehow, where I stay and the configuration of the bus system seems to make my route an even better on compared to driving... Given the time on the bus, I am able to really sit down quietly to read the bible and enjoy the time with God... Praise God for bus #588!!!

Being able to set myself apart during this time also means that I get my regular spiritual meals... Something I had not be able to properly fix into my schedule earlier... Now the conditions are actually perfect for me, especially spiritually. I thank God that even though man may fail but He is always faithful and longs to commune with us, never letting us go.

As part of my reading this week, I came across the parable of the rich fool. The story where the man builds a bigger barn so as to store his harvest and have an "early retirement". Here is the verse:

16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? ’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this:I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? ’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God

(Luke 12:16-21 ESV) 

I have always understood this parable as the rich being so greedy as to build a bigger barn for himself... To me, its like increase the size of your bank account, the money $$$ thingy... However, God showed me something more this round... As I read this carefully, I realised in verse 19, it says that the man wanted to use his reserves to actually eat drink and be merry! Finally it dawned on me that its not the building of the wealth that is the problem but the hoarding of the wealth that is the problem. Hoarding essentially means to use what you have FOR YOURSELF ONLY! Wow that kinda struck me as I realised that I had only a shallow understanding of this parable. 

In verse 21, the message is further emphasised. Laying up treasure for yourself is something that God absolutely abhors! To the point that our soul will be required of us... What does this mean? This means that there must be a certain relation between that of our salvation to that our of giving to others! Why do I say this? Well, I believe that at the crux of our belief in Christ must also exist the willing to love others unconditionally. (This is indeed a challenging thought, and I do not boast or even think that I am even anywhere near it) 

Further down the verses, similar message is encouraged:

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 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. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

(Luke 12:32-34 ESV)

Jesus encourages us all the time not to be full of ourselves instead, we need to give to others. Maybe let me explain it this way... Pictorially, perhaps we can imagine our friends, neighbours, family and loves ones as "barn". The more I give to them, the more they have and the more they, that means that the "store" is increasing. Can this "moneybag" grow old? Well, physically yes, but spiritually no! When we continue to invest into others' lives, we are in fact investing into the kingdom of God!

So to bring the whole story together, when we set our minds on things above, we are actually setting our minds on the treasures that moth and rust do not destroy and thieves will not break in to steal. We are in fact looking at investing in others! Amen!