Click here to listen to the radio version.
Click here to search the AOG archives.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 10, 2010
“What on Earth Are Treasures in Heaven?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
When my children were students at a Christian school, we did a fundraiser called Pennies from Heaven. We did it in February because, you know, Abe Lincoln is on the penny.
One key to a successful school fundraiser is to do it annually. That gets people in the groove and they know what to expect from year to year.
So once we got it rolling, families would store up their change all year long, then bring it in for the fundraiser.
That’s a simple concept, isn’t it? Store up your pennies at home all year, then give them to the school each February.
Now keep that in mind as we look at something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6 He said, “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.”
Storing up – a simple concept, right? I have a plastic box at home where I store up various hardware like nails and screws for simple household projects. Whenever I do a job, I buy more than I need and store it up for the next job.
But Jesus said to store up treasures in heaven. He took the simple “storing up” concept and blew my mind with it. “Storing up” I get. But storing up treasures in heaven?
First of all, I don’t know where heaven is, so how can I go put things there? And what exactly am I supposed to put there? The word “treasures” is kind of vague.
Fortunately Jesus brought up “treasure in heaven” once again, while teaching His disciples in Luke chapter 12. He said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”
It doesn’t say where heaven is, and it doesn’t define the treasure, but at least it gives a concrete, earthly action. He told them to sell their possessions and give to the poor.
So giving what we have to help others in need – that’s the only concrete action I see there that leads to treasure in heaven.
Jesus brought up “treasure in heaven” again, during a conversation with a rich young man in Matthew 19. He told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Once again there is this one concrete earthly action – giving what we have to help others in need.
This idea of storing up treasures comes up again in First Timothy chapter six. It’s a message aimed at people who are well supplied with worldly goods, and here is what Paul told Timothy to tell them.
“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age…”
Again we find the same idea – giving what we have to help others in need. We are to be generous and willing to share.
Jesus told us specifically to store up treasures in heaven, but how do we do that?
We aren’t given step-by-step instructions, but here is what appears to be taking place. When we make certain “transactions” here on earth, a transaction also takes place in heaven.
For example, when we give to someone in need here on earth, it appears to be recorded as some kind of credit in our favor in heaven. The more we give to those in need here, the larger our credit, or our “store of treasures” becomes in heaven.
Sometimes we only see things from a worldly perspective. “If I give this away, then I will have less.” But the heavenly perspective is, give it away, and in return you will have treasure in heaven.
Think of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
The man gave up all he had, because something much better was waiting at the end of the transaction.
That’s what the kingdom of heaven is like, Jesus said.
And I think that’s what storing up treasures in heaven is like. We give up things we currently have, giving them to those in need, and on the other end of the transaction we receive treasures in heaven.
The Bible doesn’t give us great detail on the subject, but here is what I believe. When we give to others in need, it is not a loss for our account. It’s more like a transfer, from an unprotected worldly account, to a fully protected heavenly account, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment