I’m wondering what world we will be living in by the time you read this article.
I am currently at the Moldovan/Ukrainian border where I’ve had the privilege of working with the flood of refugees fleeing the war.
In the vortex of so much chaos and uncertainty it’s a little hard to imagine that most of the world is still enjoying such normalities as birthdays parties, football games or lunch with friends, or that we will still be doing those things in a few weeks time.
While we all are hoping and praying for this conflict in Ukraine to end quickly, it isn’t unrealistic to ask questions like, “Will we still enjoy the luxury of ‘normal’ a month from now? Will the war overflow its current banks and engulf our daily routines? Will life allow for such givens as an undistracted walk on the seafront?”
These uncertainties are painfully real and force us to assess what foundation we’re building our lives upon. Where do our real values and priorities lay?
These kinds of questions have been asked by millions of refugees recently who’ve been forced to leave their homes on a moment’s notice. They’ve been asked by families, by friends, who’ve had to send their loved ones away to safety.
The choices between what you value most can become very complex, very quickly in such circumstances. Will your love for your family lead you to send them away or keep them nearby at any cost? Do you value time more than your possessions? Does your love for a family pet outweigh your need to move unimpeded? These are the kinds of impossible choices the people we’ve been working with have been forced to make, and they are often only measured by one loss over or against the other.
It is into such considerations as these that Jesus spoke the words below…
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust (or war, in this case) destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven…For wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
Essentially Jesus is warning us against the possibility of living our lives completely without regard to God’s design or purpose.
It’s important we don’t misunderstand His meaning. Jesus was not suggesting that there is nothing in this ‘present’ life worth putting our whole hearts into. On the contrary, if Jesus taught anything, it was that God loves this world enough to send Him into it to bring healing and restoration between God and man. Jesus wasn’t saying that we should live with our head in the clouds, completely removed from reality. He was teaching that all the things we love so much about this life, especially relationships, can find their God-given purposes and fulfillment in Him.
He was teaching us that we can invest in treasures that no moth, rust, thief or war can ultimately touch or take away, and that it all comes through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
This month the Christian world is celebrating its greatest and most distinct holiday, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, or Easter.
We celebrate because we believe it is the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ work of salvation on the cross, where, by the sacrifice of Himself, He defeated death, triumphed over sin and through which He now offers forgiveness and the hope of an unending life.
It is this same life, eternal and unfading, that God calls us to pursue today by faith. A life that no plague can consume, no robber can steal, no war can destroy; a life that nothing this world throws at us can ever overcome.
So whether we are still enjoying life’s simple pleasures by the time you read this, or the war is impacting every facet of our lives, my prayer for you is that you will give your life to Jesus Christ by faith, and if you are called upon to make those impossible choices in the days ahead, you may know that your treasures are safely stored in heaven, far beyond the fragile security of this world.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Rom 10:9
By Pastor Tim Mattox, Calvary Chapel Paphos
www.calvarycyprus.com
