“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)
Why will the 'moth and rust destroy' our 'treasures on earth'?
Such "treasures" stored up on "earth" - are temporary, according to Jesus. They are: "where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."Because they are made of matter, what we treasure on earth will eventually be taken from us. They will eventually all decompose.
In other words, everything here in the physical world is temporary. All the money, the house, the job, the fame and all the other stuff we can accumulate here in this world is all temporary. These are all made of matter that will dissolve into molecules. Just as our bodies will after we leave them, all these things will decompose.
Ultimately we will have to leave everything behind at the time of death.
As for the dream of building that happy home with the white picket fence, the kids, and the dog, these will all dissolve as well. The kids will grow up, the dog will die, the house will get old and need rebuilding and the white picket fence will sag and collapse.
Then one day our body will die and everything will dissolve.
Poof! It will all be gone in an instant.
Here we each occupy temporary physical bodies for a specific period of time. But we each are a unique and unseen (by the gross physical eyes) spirit-person. This is the person that drives the energy and the activities of the body. This is the person who exhibits emotions through the body. This is the person who is born into a body and leaves the body at death. This person is eternal, while our physical bodies are temporary.
Our home is in the spiritual realm, where our spiritual person naturally exists in our normal state. This was our state of existence before we descended into the physical world and took on a physical body.
This assumption that we are spirit not matter is clarified by Jesus as he said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth..."
Without having an identity beyond this earth - a spiritual identity - these statements would make no sense.
The question Jesus brings to bear is what is that treasure we can store up in heaven? What could we possibly do now to store some sort of treasure in the spiritual world?
By redeveloping our loving relationship with God, we are building for ourselves a permanent treasure in the spiritual world, because this is where that relationship ultimately resides, and where He is to be found.
Our relationship with God can be redeveloped while we are in the physical world. This is because God’s kingdom includes the physical world.
The limiting factor is the physical body. Because of these physical bodies, we cannot see Him when we are focused upon the things of this world. Only when we begin to focus our lives and our efforts toward pleasing Him can our relationship begin to redevelop.
This relates specifically to Jesus' statement: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Our focus relates to where our heart is. If we are focused on the temporary things of the physical world, our heart will stay in the physical world. If we are focused on the Supreme Being and His world, our heart will be with the Supreme Being in the spiritual world.
It is our choice. We choose where and who we focus our lives upon. And that focus will be our treasure.
Poof! It will all be gone in an instant.
Why can't we store our 'treasures on earth'?
In this statement, Jesus is explaining that our true identity is spiritual rather than material.Here we each occupy temporary physical bodies for a specific period of time. But we each are a unique and unseen (by the gross physical eyes) spirit-person. This is the person that drives the energy and the activities of the body. This is the person who exhibits emotions through the body. This is the person who is born into a body and leaves the body at death. This person is eternal, while our physical bodies are temporary.
Our home is in the spiritual realm, where our spiritual person naturally exists in our normal state. This was our state of existence before we descended into the physical world and took on a physical body.
This assumption that we are spirit not matter is clarified by Jesus as he said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth..."
Without having an identity beyond this earth - a spiritual identity - these statements would make no sense.
The question Jesus brings to bear is what is that treasure we can store up in heaven? What could we possibly do now to store some sort of treasure in the spiritual world?
What are the 'treasures in heaven'?
The ultimate “treasure” Jesus is referring to is our relationship with God. This never dies. Once we rebuild our lost relationship with the Supreme Being we will never lose it.By redeveloping our loving relationship with God, we are building for ourselves a permanent treasure in the spiritual world, because this is where that relationship ultimately resides, and where He is to be found.
Our relationship with God can be redeveloped while we are in the physical world. This is because God’s kingdom includes the physical world.
The limiting factor is the physical body. Because of these physical bodies, we cannot see Him when we are focused upon the things of this world. Only when we begin to focus our lives and our efforts toward pleasing Him can our relationship begin to redevelop.
This relates specifically to Jesus' statement: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Our focus relates to where our heart is. If we are focused on the temporary things of the physical world, our heart will stay in the physical world. If we are focused on the Supreme Being and His world, our heart will be with the Supreme Being in the spiritual world.
It is our choice. We choose where and who we focus our lives upon. And that focus will be our treasure.
