“One man’s junk is another’s treasure!” The saying is a simple way of recognizing our very different values. One person values a newer car, another her clothing.
One person is driven to accumulate money, another spends lavishly.
One loves lots of stuff, another loves simplicity.
One loves a cheeseburger, another a steak!
I dress in rather plain black, brown, and gray clothes, others dress in bold primary colored clothing.
We naturally tend to think that ‘our way’ is the ‘best way,’ seeing those who do not share our values as deficient in some way, just ‘wrong!’
There is a value that Jesus says is universal. Above
all, Christians are called to value eternity, letting the hope of Heaven shape
today’s choices. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be
eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your
treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where
they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and
thoughts will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21, NLT) Is Heaven real to you today?
In your actions today will you
reflect the love of Jesus, actively reject worthless things, and treasure what
God loves?
Let me tell you a true story about one of my heroes. 70
years ago, a bright young man from Portland, Oregon, a gifted leader who might
have had a great career in business, chose a very different path from the other
men in his college class. He followed the call of Jesus Christ to Ecuador where
he served in a small missions outreach station. Three years later he felt the
call into the Amazonian jungles. The Spirit of the Lord was leading him to tell
the Life Story to a group of native people in those jungles who were extremely
hostile to 'outsiders.' Jim Elliott and four other men prepared to reach out to
the Waorani people for weeks, flying their little yellow Piper Cub over their
villages dropping gifts and looking for a response.
When they felt it was safe,
Nate Saint, their pilot, landed their little plane on a river beach where they
created a camp, hoping to make contact with the Waoranis. On On January 8,
1956, 28-year-old American was martyred. After having a few friendly contacts
those young fathers were killed by the spears of warriors with whom they hoped
to share the love of Jesus. The following year, his wife, Elizabeth Elliott,
along with her daughter, and the wife of the pilot who was killed, Rachel
Saint, moved to live with the same tribal people and taught them about Jesus
Christ. (a fuller account can be found at this link - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/they-were-no-fools-60-years-ago-today-the-martyrdom-of-jim-elliot-and-four-other-missionaries/
)
How does a person explain the values of people who live like
that? Some probably read that account and think, “What a waste, what a foolish way
to end a life of promise.” Jim Elliott knew
a different value, one shaped by the call of Christ and the promise of eternity.
Years before, the college student was challenged by Christ’s call and wrote in his journal on October 28, 1949 - "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." His words are just a restatement of Jesus’ own words - "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39, NIV) Was Elliot perfect? Not at all. He was a man of his time who got some things wrong. But, his love for God is beyond question.
Don’t take away the wrong conclusion that the only way to please God is to leave home and family to teach in a missions school on the other side of the world! Don’t assume that God demands that every one of us moves to a religious community or becomes a pastor. He asks you and me to belong to Him, to put Him first - right where we are, at this time in our lives.
We ask -
How am I spending my time?
Where am I spending my resources?
Does the way I treat others reflect that Jesus is my Savior and Lord?
Who do I love most - Self or God?
The best life grows out of our devotion and love for God. We are deceived if we believe that serving Him is a joyless life of grinding duty. It is the pathway to life to the full - here and in Heaven.
May this word from the Word take hold of our imagination and guide us today. Jesus “said to another person, “Come, be my disciple.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” Jesus replied, “Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62, NLT)
(Video of this blog at this link)
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Where You go I'll go
Where You stay I'll stay
When You move I'll move
I will follow
Oh oh oh
All Your ways are good
All Your ways are sure
I will trust in You alone
Higher than my sight
High above my life
I will trust in You alone
Where You go I'll go
Where You stay I'll stay
When You move I'll move
I will follow You
Whom You love I'll love
How You serve I'll serve
If this life I lose
I will follow (You)
Light into the world
Light into my life
I will live for You alone
You're the One I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in You alone
In You alone
In You there's life everlasting
In You there's freedom for my soul
In You there's joy unending joy
And I will follow
Yeah I will follow You yeah
I will follow You yeah
I will follow You yeah
Chris Tomlin | Jason Ingram | Reuben Morgan
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