Jesus wants us to know one simple truth from Matthew 6:19-14: we need to re-orient our priorities. Jesus speaks of our treasure, our eye and our master in this passage. But these three seemingly unrelated illustrations all point towards the single reality that our greatest aim and desire in life must be to treasure, behold and serve the triune God.
We have to have our single-minded focus be on the glory of God manifested in us, demonstrated through us and reciprocated by us to the praise of His name. All that drives us must be towards building the kingdom of God, for God and His kingdom can play second fiddle to no one.
When we first look at Christ’s words He is presenting to us a command: stop storing up for yourselves treasures on earth. This ceasing to lay up treasures on earth, must be the first step in laying up treasures for yourself in heaven. You see, we must give all of ourselves to the Lord. To fail to place the entirety of our treasures in the heavenly chest, is to in effect place all of our treasure in the earthly chest. Jesus reminds us that we need to re-orient our priorities.
What principles are guiding your priorities today? What is your greatest aim? To be the most comfortable? Most satisfied? Least worried or anxious? Christ as the Good Shepherd, comes alongside His disciples and reminds us that all of the treasures this world can produce will do us absolutely no good in the life to come; at best we are stewards of all that has been given to us. Using the first two illustrations given by Christ in vv. 19-23 we find out that a perpetual concern with one’s monetary goods will assuredly lead towards a ruining of the whole person. If that’s the case what are we to focus upon then? What is it that we are to value?
Jesus leads us to believe that valuing as our chief good the treasures of this world is absurd and foolish, not only for their inability to come with us in the life to come but also in their susceptibility to theft, corrosion and disintegration. We are instead to seek greater things than these. We were created then, to relish and glory in that which is beyond compare. To rejoice in that which is most invaluable, precious, awe-inspiring, tear producing, the radiating fount of our greatest joy. Such a treasure cannot be placed in our pockets, or purchased with any wealth. This treasure is itself eternal, incorruptible and imperishable because it is the One who is all these things and more: the triune God Himself.
Humans are designed to worship and indeed it is the God of Israel who must be the object alone of our heart’s song, of our adoration and allegiance. Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has been tempted and beguiled into worshiping anything but God Himself. But Jesus, reminds us that we must lay aside every fading trinket for the insurpassable beauty and joy of knowing God as our greatest treasure and delight. That when we pursue God with the fullness of our strength we are like a bird in the air, or a fish in the sea, doing precisely that which we’ve been made to do. Are you doing what you were made to do? Have you submitted your heart unto the Lord? Is the God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit your source of salvation, joy and delight?
Believe the good news and exchange those eroding pennies for the great treasure that is our God who’s words are more precious than much fine gold and whose grace is more laudable than any masterpiece an orchestra could ever produce.
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