January 27 I Sunday

Exodus 16-18

Matthew 18:1-20

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”   —Matthew 6:34

The second feature of heavenly treasures is that they are peaceful, freeing us from the worry statements of Matthew 6:25-34. The first of these worries have to do with food. Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Birds do not sit in their nests with beaks open waiting for worms to drop from heaven. They work hard to gather food for their young, but it is God who provides the food to be gathered. We are also obligated to earn our keep, but always with the confidence that God is the source of our resources and will provide what we need.

We are also freed from worries about clothes and the measures of reputation that come with them. Image so easily consumes us in materialistic societies, but Jesus counters this anxiety, “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you...?” (Matthew 6:28-30). True beauty is not created on the surface but is the outward expression of the inward person. It is the inner person that finds peace and security in God.

One last worry we are freed from is the length of our lives. For those whose treasure is on earth, death is the ultimate threat because it ends everything, but for those whose treasure is in heaven, death presents no fear because it cannot steal what is most important. We do not relish dying or the potentially painful process leading up to it, but our assurance in Christ is that the grave is not the end but a gateway. The believer puts off this decaying body and puts on new clothes; “the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality”
(1 Corinthians 15:53). All that can die, will die, but the most important things will go on living forever with God. 

The key to all this is, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). We have a short window to determine what we will enjoy forever, but once we have settled the issue of storing up our real treasure in heaven, then our vision is good, our master is God, and He will take care of everything else.

Prayer: Dear God, there are so many things that can cause worry in life, but thank You for Your peace as I turn my attention to storing up treasures in heaven.