Jesus is making the assertion, with
which we may be prepared to agree, that whatever we pursue most in life, and what
we give our highest priority to, and where we put our greatest energies – this inevitably
shows what we most care about and where our heart is. As Athol Gill once wrote,
“Each person sets their heart on what they count as ultimately important … and
this allegiance determines the direction of their life”. Allan Meyer defines
the “heart” as the inner springs of our life – the place where our motivation
and ‘bounce’ comes from! So the question is … ‘where is our heart’?
Jesus begins this section of his ‘sermon
on the mount’ by engaging with the minds of those who are particularly focussed
on ‘earthbound’ things like material possessions, wealth and status. Jesus sees
this as a major indicator of a heart-based problem.
In verse 19 Jesus contends that such things as material possessions and
status (referred to as “treasures on earth”) are not as valuable as we first
think, because in reality, such things are subject to wearing out and being
taken away from us. They are temporary and worthless beyond this life. And
these “treasures of earth” cannot necessarily even bring happiness or security
in this life (because they were never designed to be able to do so). Yet some
people will still invest their heart and soul in such things – continuing
toward a high level of anxiety about them, despite this being in many ways
irrational. Material acquisition and power has become for many people just as
strong and pervasive an addiction as any drug, and as such becomes a very
destructive occupation (which brings negative outcomes, and not just for the
person themselves).
This then links to verse 23 in terms
of someone who might claim to be in the light, but in reality dwells in “great”
darkness. This is because, rather than experiencing freedom, their quest for
possessions and power – possesses them! An example of this is found within the
interchange Jesus had with ‘the rich young ruler’ (an incident recorded in
three of the Gospels including Matthew 19). This man desperately wanted to
experience eternal life, but when faced by Jesus with the very thing that was
standing in the way, he could not give up his possessions.
Jesus speaks further to such people
who worry too much about the wrong things in the passage that follows (from
verse 25). This is because undue worry about comparatively less important
matters, diminishes our usefulness and effectiveness in God’s kingdom. We will
come back to the punch-line of that latter passage later.
Now, Jesus, in verse 20, also contends
that there are other
possible pursuits that are NOT subject to any processes of decline. These
pursuits are called “treasures in heaven”. What would these be??? We
might start by defining “treasures in heaven” as those things or pursuits or
investments that are of immense, permanent and eternal value and significance.
·
Acts
of kindness and service … out of a heart of love and gracious compassion
·
Gifts
of forgiveness
·
Faith-sharing
… where people have the opportunity to come to know Jesus
·
Justice-seeking
… in a world with a very unequal distribution of resources
·
Community-building
… bringing people together into greater harmony and mutual caring
·
Good
character … where the True Light is allowed to shine
·
Growing
relationships … with God, family, neighbours, community networks (including
church family)
“Treasures of heaven” would ultimately
be those things that advance the cause of the kingdom of God. We pray
expectantly, as Jesus taught earlier in Matthew 6, that God’s kingdom will
advance … Your kingdom come; Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven –
and in so praying commit ourselves to this cause. God’s kingdom … how would we
best define this – the places, minds and hearts where God’s will reigns. This
striving for the kingdom of God (or the ‘reign of God’) is to shape the
identity and lifestyle of all the followers/disciples of Jesus.
Returning to the ‘rich young ruler’ …
what was his particular path toward “treasures in heaven”. We read in Matthew
19:21 that Jesus said to him, If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come, follow me. What did “treasures in heaven” look like for
him (potentially)? Well, presumably, the output and results of de-possessing
himself … to the benefit of the poor! But, unfortunately, it seems, he would
never know!!
We read later at Matthew 6 verse 33 … But
strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well; where “first” gives the sense of
priority, and “these things” refer to those things which may have previously
competed to be first priority (e.g. food, drink, clothing) but now are allowed
to find their natural place in the order of things. Paraphrased in another way,
in seeking first the Kingdom of God, we are allowing for everything else to
fall into its right place! Michael Hardin writes, “Seeking God’s reign is our
reason for waking up in the morning, living through the day and resting at
night; it is the food and drink of our existence as disciples” (The Jesus
Driven Life, p.83).
The verse about not being able to
serve two masters (v.24) emphasises that clear decisions have to be made
between competing allegiances. We might think that we can manage a whole range
of agendas, but if we don’t prioritise in a very deliberate way, all sorts of
distractions will cross our path and cause various diversions … which will
inevitably be both unhelpful to us and the cause of God’s kingdom. “When we
seek God’s reign we bring our intention in line with Jesus who is the revealer
of God’s reign” (Michael Hardin, The Jesus Driven Life, p.82). Thus, simply, our heart belongs with
Jesus!!
No comments:
Post a Comment