"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Matthew 6:20-24 These verses have been brought to my mind many times by various people the last few weeks. We live in a world that places great renown and power on the accumulation of things. We cannot live a life where we have a mixed allegiance between God and the world. What does it look like when we cast aside the bonds of idolatry that have taken root in our lives and cling to God? What hope is there to break free from the bonds that consistently seek to hold onto our attention?
In 2 Chronicles 31 and 32 the people of Judah are rekindling their first love as they in unity tore down all the idols that crept into their lives. The people of Judah also gave freely and abundantly to the Lord from the first fruits of their lives. The people of Judah under Hezekiah's rule turned back to God and away from the idols of their fathers. The Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was again the place where the people of Judah set their heart. What does your heart proclaim your treasure to be? What are the things that hold the devotion of your heart? If your heart is drawn to anything other than God can you truly be at peace?
The people of Judah were able to stand firm in troubled times because they placed their hope in God alone. Did the peoples lack of dependance on worldly things help them to cling to God in the midst of trouble? When our hearts are steadfastly set towards God and not on the things of the world what is there to fear when trouble come? If your treasure is set in heaven there is nothing that can take it away and it will never be in jeopardy.
By Aaron Eberline
