Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven — Matthew 6:20
Heaven and Time
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Matthew 6:20
Self discipline with your time: (continued from October 6, 2010 post)
“In most cases, time is the only finite resource,” my son Nate informed me the other day. He was sharing something he learned while working on his degree in economics. He went on to explain that you can lose all your money, but if you work hard and invest wisely, you may be able to recover it, you might even gain far beyond what you lost. But once you’ve spent time, you can never get it back.
How we spend our time is one of the most important areas of discipline there is. Showing up on time, spending our time preparing properly, and scheduling are all important areas of self discipline that are keys to success in life.
But right now I’d like you to think about time as a resource. As something you spend. As a resource you invest. I believe that when we enter into heaven, the answer to the question, how did you invest your time, will be of the utmost importance.
Imagine with me if you will, that you’ve just died in a car wreck and you find yourself at the gates of heaven.
“You are welcome at my house,” the angel said. (Judges 19:20) Was he an angel? What is it about him? Or is it Him? He threw His arms around me and kissed me. (Luke 15:20) I all but disappeared in his (His?) giant embrace.
“Tell me about yourself,” he said warmly. Why this tremendous being is interested in me, I can’t fathom.
“Well,” I started tentatively. “I feel like I’m kind of young to be here.”
“I get that a lot,” is all he said. “Where have you come from? (Job 1:7) Tell me about your life on earth.”
“I, um, I grew up in…” I spent an hour or so sharing with him all of my life story. The longer I spoke, the more I became aware of a loving quality about him. By the end of my story it seemed that his love was palpable, I could feel it exuding from him. Just then the thought entered my mind, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.” (1 John 4:16)
It was Him. I was sure of that now.
After I thought I had told Him all of my life story, at the end, after the description of how I died in the car accident, that’s when he asked the big question.
“So how did you spend your time on earth?” He asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked right back. “I just told you my life story.”
“Yes, of course you did,” He didn’t react at all to my defensive tone. “You grew up, you had to work to support yourself, you had certain obligations to family and friends, you needed time for rest, you died. Your time on earth is a finite resource, I understand. Since the fall, that’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s the rest of your time that I’m interested in.”
“The rest of my time?” I asked. Just then the thought “As for man, his days are like grass…” passed through my mind. (Psalm 103:15)
“Yes, the rest of your time. How did you spend it?”
“Hmmm, let’s see, on Sunday mornings I went to Your house, to church.”
“Thou hast well said.” (John 4:17 KJV) You did go to my house, to a church that teaches My word, My whole word from cover to cover. Good choice. And you were there on many Sunday mornings. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:18)
I swallowed hard. Many Sunday mornings, He had said. That was a generous way to put it, I knew. In reality I was there mostly when a close friend, who was much more devoted than I, talked me into going. I had attended church on Sunday less than half of the time.
“How else?” He asked. “How else did you spend your time?”
“Well, socializing, I said. Visiting with friends and family.”
“Ah,” He smiled widely, a great and wonderful smile. “Socializing, with a generous dose of loving people. Truly an excellent use of your time – loving people.” His smile made my heart soar. I was filled with joy to the point where I thought my chest would burst. The look of pleasure on His face was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen by far. I heard the words in my mind, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6)
“And how else?”
I thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with anything else I’d done that was of, well, of any value to anyone in this place. I heard in my mind, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15)
Suddenly without warning I heard myself saying out loud, “Watch TV.” I didn’t want to say it, I didn’t mean to say it – it just seemed to come out. And it was true. Most days I spent at least a couple of hours watching TV.
“You’ve answered well again. And what did you watch?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to. The expression on my face must have said it all, for nearly everything I watched had no redeeming value.
I wasn’t ready for what happened next. A look of sadness washed over His face. His face, looking like that, looking so very sad. I suddenly felt altogether unhinged – I felt sick. I averted my eyes. “Anything but,” I thought. “please, anything but that look. I don’t ever want to see that look again.” I was reminded of how I felt when I saw the look of disappointment on my best friend’s face, that day I betrayed him. But as bad as that was, this was much more painful. My sorrow was so great that it hurt. The pain was so intense that I thought I would perish, but somehow I knew that couldn’t happen here, not in this place. I was struck by how One so magnificent could look so hurt. He looked wounded. The words entered my mind, “these are the wounds I was given at the house of my friends.” (Zechariah 13:6)
Very softly, very gently, He asked, “What else, my child?”
“The computer,” I said, barely audible.
Without warning the images and sounds of every television program I had ever watched, every website I had ever visited, every song I had ever listened to, every thought I ever had was before me. And before Him. He was showing me how I spent my time. I said, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.” (Psalm 139:1)
I don’t know how I got there but I suddenly found myself at His feet. I was sobbing with my face pressed into the ground. “Mercy, mercy,” I was repeating over and over and over. “Mercy,” I thought. I was completely and utterly at His mercy. “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” I thought. (Job 13:15)
Then God’s hand touched me and instantly the words came into my mind, “A hand touched me and set me trembling…” (Daniel 10:10) He wiped every tear from my eyes and gently turned my head to see Another coming. (Revelation 21:4) And when I turned I saw …someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:12, 13, 16)
“My child behold, your Champion,” God said of the Other. “My Son and My lamb.”
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18)
Then my eyes were opened and I recognized him who came. (Luke 24:31) It was Jesus. I felt my heart swell because I was at once very afraid yet filled with joy that was almost unbearable. (Matthew 28:8)
In an instant, and without knowing how, I was walking next to my Lord. He was telling me, graciously and gently telling me, how the time God gave me on earth was one of His most precious gifts, and how I chose to use it was of the greatest importance.
“Time,” He said. “Use it well. Store up for yourself treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)
Invest your time in eternity.
References:
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Genesis 3:7-13 — They Realized They Were Naked
At first it would seem Satan was right, the fruit was good to eat, and the fruit brought knowledge of good and evil. Indeed after eating the fruit Adam and Eve did gain the knowledge of good and evil. And there was no immediate evidence death was upon either one of them. This is how it was with the first sin, and this is how it is with all sin. The bible says sin brings pleasure for a season (Hebrews 11:25) But then “…the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
Sin is a package deal and the second part of the package is inescapable. Lets have a look at the second part of Adam and Eve’s sin.
Self Centeredness:
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;” v. 7 After eating the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve became self conscious. Before their sin their focus was on the animals of the earth, on tending the garden, on each other, and on their relationship with God. After their sin their focus shifted to themselves. They became aware of, and embarrassed about their nakedness. God didn’t design us to be focused on ourselves. People who sin become self absorbed, and people who are self absorbed tend to be unhappy. God’s design for us is to put Him and other people before ourselves in life. Talk to someone who’s entangled in sin and you’ll find the conversation is all about him, or her. Like the self centered man who after talking at length about himself to a friend said, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you. Tell me–what do you think about me?”
Separation From God:
…and they hid from God among the trees of the garden. v. 8 Sin separates us from God. Adam and Eve had a wonderful relationship with God in His spectacular garden. Intimacy with Him, closeness with Him, regular communication with Him was a regular part of their lives. After their sin, all that changed. When they heard the sound of His coming they were filled with guilt and shame, so they hid themselves, from Him. Their sin affected their relationship with Him, and a relationship with Him is the most important relationship there is. Your sin and my sin will affect our relationship with Him in the same way.
The Blame Game:
The woman You put here with me… v. 12 Adam says. The serpent You put here with us… v. 13 Eve says. God first of all, You were the one who put this woman here with me, Adam was saying, and she did it, it was Eve’s fault. (Stedman says, “He took it like a man, he blamed his wife!”) God You were the one who put the serpent here, and it’s his fault, Eve said. The blame game, finger pointing. This is the first account of that game and its been played by every member of the human race ever since. Notice God is implicated here, the woman You put in my life, the serpent You put here. Whenever you or I blame someone for something we’re ultimately blaming our Father in heaven, for putting that person in our life.
Your Most Important Line of Communication:
You may have read about the fire that destroyed 11 homes in Ashland, Oregon last month. I happened to be running a division at that fire. One of our tactics was to use helicopters to drop water on the burning homes. When the helicopters began operating it was important to keep them from dropping water on one particular house, where firefighters were working inside. That’s because a helicopter water drop pushes fire in all directions, in dramatic fashion. This could cause serious injury or death to those fighting fire inside.
“Command from Oak Knoll Division,” I said on the radio, “direct the helicopters NOT to drop on the house directly across from 8106.”
Command responded, “Copy, send a helicopter to drop water directly on the house across from 8106.”
Of course this was exactly what I didn’t want. “Negative, negative,” I said, “DO NOT drop water on the house across from 8106. There are firefighters operating inside.”
No response.
“Command from Oak Knoll Division, DO NOT drop water on the house across from 8106.” I repeated my request.
* Still no response.
Just then a helicopter approaches the area and appears to be lining up for a drop on the house next door to the one we want it to avoid. Hoping that the pilot can see me I encourage him to drop on the house next door by pointing and nodding. (Yes, kind of ridiculous I know, but I didn’t have my radio on the helicopter pilot’s frequency.) He’s low over the house next door and things are looking good, but then, before I know it, he’s passed it. Suddenly it becomes obvious he’s setting up to drop on the house with the firefighters inside. In desperation I’m jumping up and down, waving my arms frantically, trying to communicate to the helicopter pilot not to drop on top of the firefighters. In the midst of all the chaos, a friend of mine, Tyler McCarty, who works for Oregon Department of Forestry, walks up to me just as calm as can be and says,
“Kurt, would you like me to tell that helicopter not to drop on that house?”
“YES!!!” I shout, “yes I would!”
Tyler, who’s already on the helicopter’s frequency, radios the request directly to the pilot. The helicopter flies off, and the firefighters operating inside are saved.
The point is I rarely speak to helicopter pilots because my Fire Department is primarily a structural fire department. My friend Tyler works for a Wildland Fire agency, he talks to helicopter pilots all the time. His radio is on their frequency, and communication is easy.
It’s the same with God. When we’re in constant communication with Him, our relationship is easy. When our prayers are rare, when our scripture reading is only occasional, when our church attendance is sporadic, our relationship with Him suffers. We find ourselves on a different frequency.
Like Adam and Eve before their original sin, focus on God, your family, and the work God has set before you. Avoid sin to avoid separation from God, self-centeredness, and the blame game. Keep your line of communication with God flowing,
Don’t hide from God.
Talk with Him in prayer.
Listen to Him by reading His word.
Fellowship with Him by attending a church that teaches through the entire Bible.
Seek Him.
The day will come, when you’ll be glad you’re on His frequency.
Notes:
* An Incident Commander at a fire like this is completely swamped with all types of communication including face to face, cell phone, and radio communication over multiple frequencies. Not receiving a response for awhile or misunderstanding a radio transmission is not at all uncommon for any fire department operating on a large scale incident.
I believe God’s hand was with the firefighters that day. Within a few minutes of the arrival of the first engine 11 homes were burning. Across the street another 30 homes were threatened. A man who lived across the street from the fire was quoted in the newspaper as saying, “I’m not a religious man, but I know a miracle when I see it.” I agree, that fire should have jumped the street and 30 or so more homes should have burned that day. (Damian Mann, Mail Tribune, Ashland Fire Likely Worst in 100 Years, August 26, 2010)
References:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Ray Stedman
Medford Mail Tribune
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Posted on September 25, 2010 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Ashland fire 2010, Ashland Oregon worst fire, Christian living, consequences of sin, Genesis 3:7-13, Oak Knoll fire, sin, Then the eyes of both of them were opened