Perspective: Treasure in Heaven

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Treasure in Heaven

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NRSV)

Ruin my life, the plans I have made

Ruin desires for my own selfish gain

Destroy the idols that have taken Your place

Till it's You alone I live for

You alone I live for

From "Ruin Me" by Jeff Johnson

One day, a rich man approached Jesus, and kneeling before Him, asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus referred him to the Ten Commandments, and the man insisted that he had kept all of the Commandments ever since he was young.  Jesus looked at him, smiled warmly, and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  The rich man walked away dejected, because he did not want to part with his many possessions.¹

If you have been following this blog for a long period of time, then you might have noticed that I've written about the encounter between Jesus and the man commonly known as the Rich Young Ruler numerous times over the years, and you might be wondering why I'm writing about it yet again.  A friend of mine, who is a pastor, was scheduled to participate in the Kairos Prison Ministry² two weeks ago, and I had volunteered to fill in for him at the two churches he serves.  The Gospel passage for the week just happened to be story of the Rich Young Ruler, so I started preparing to write a sermon on it.  I later learned that the Kairos weekend was postponed and that my services would not be needed on that particular Sunday.

Two weeks ago, as I read the passage yet again, I thought about what I might have preached that day.  I knew I wanted to avoid the "obvious" messages.  I wanted to avoid the ever popular message that Jesus does not really expect all of us to part with our possessions, as He was speaking to a particular person.  I also wanted to avoid the less popular message that, as Christians, we need to take the words of Jesus seriously, actually do what He said, and give up our possessions.  I wanted to the congregation to do the hard work of looking at their own lives and deciding for themselves what they need to do with their possessions.

One thing I know I wanted to explore in my sermon was what Jesus meant when He spoke of "treasure in heaven."  Jesus uses the phrase only a few times.  Probably the instance that best explains the concept is in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus encourages His audience not to accumulate "treasures on earth," which wear out, break, and get stolen, but to instead collect "treasures in heaven," which one cannot lose.

Jesus then says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This concluding thought is, I think, the key to unlocking why Jesus told the rich man to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor that he might have "treasure in heaven."  I think that maybe his problem was not that he was wealthy but that he was attached to his wealth.

I had also planned to explore in my sermon a phrase used by the rich man.  Consider again what he asked Jesus: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  The Greek phrase translated into English as "eternal life" is zoe aionios.  According to scholar N.T. Wright, this phrase is more accurately translated "life of the age," referring to the coming age of peace and prosperity to be ushered in by the Messiah.  "Eternal life" then is life in the messianic age of peace.³  Perhaps we could also think of "eternal life" as life in the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus returned to civilization after spending forty days in the wilderness, He started proclaiming, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."⁴  I'm starting to think that maybe this proclamation is not merely His first message but rather a summary of everything He ever taught.  The Kingdom of God is, as the prayer Jesus taught His followers suggests, heaven's coming down to earth so that God's will is done on earth as it is done in heaven now.⁵  The coming of the Kingdom of God will be a reordering of the entire world.  What is valued now will not be valued then.

Jesus urged His audience to repent because the Kingdom of God has come near.  To repent is not to simply feel sorry because of the bad things one has done.  As I have noted on this blog countless times, the Greek word translated into English as "repentance" is metanoia, which literally means a change of mind.  Repentance is a change of mind and heart that results in a change in the way one lives.⁶  For the rich man, repentance in anticipation of the Kingdom of God would mean changing what he valued.  As Jesus said, one's heart accompanies what one treasures.  The rich man needed to let go of the worldly wealth he treasured so that he could learn to treasure heavenly things.

After the rich man walked away, Jesus said to His disciples, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  Some speculate that there may have been a particularly narrow gate in Jerusalem that was compared to the eye of a needle.  A person could negotiate his camel through this gate, but he would have to first unload the camel.⁷  Similarly the rich man would have to unburden himself of his attachment to worldly wealth in order to experience the Kingdom of God.

The encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler is a reminder that God's grace is free but not cheap.  Any gift God offers us is free of charge, but taking hold of it just might cost us something.  I cannot tell you whether or not Jesus would ask you to part with your possessions.  What I can tell you is that you need to examine your relationship to your possessions for yourself to determine whether or not they are distracting you from more important things.

In two weeks, while my friend is participating in the Kairos Prison Ministry, I will be filling in at his churches.  I will not preach on a story about a rich man who cannot bring himself to part with his many possessions.  I will instead preach on a story about a poor widow who parts with her last two pennies.


Notes:

1. Mark 10:17-22 (NRSV)
2. http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/
3. N.T. Wright.  "Going to Heaven?"  Published in The Love Wins Companion.  2011, HarperOne.  pp. 33-35
4. Mark 1:12-15 (NRSV)
5. Matthew 6:10
6. Wikipedia: "Metanoia (Theology)"
7. Kent Dobson.  Bitten by a Camel: Leaving Church, Finding God.  2017, Fortress Press.  pp. 35-36

Christ and the Rich Young Ruler was painted by Heinrich Hofmann in 1889.

Introspection: Well Pleased?

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Well Pleased?

And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Mark 1:11 (NRSV)

He loves us!

Oh how He loves us!

From "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan

I have walked a long way on my journey of faith, but, despite everything I've experienced, I still have doubts.

Rarely do I ever doubt the existence of God.  I figure that there must be a reason for everything we see around us.  The big bang theory, the theories of evolution, and other such scientific theories can explain how it all came to be, but it cannot explain why it all came to be.  I simply cannot imagine that there was not some creative force at work through it all.

My doubts are not about the existence of God but rather the goodness of God.  Sometimes I struggle to believe the good things I've been taught about God, the same good things I try to teach others.  Sometimes I struggle to believe that God really loves us - or rather, that God really loves me.

Lately I've realized that I need to rethink my source of self-worth.  A few days ago, during my time of morning prayer, I spent some time trying to meditate on the following words: "You are My child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."  According to the Gospels, a voice from heaven - the voice of God the Father - said words like these to Jesus, the incarnate Son, on the day of His baptism.  I've been taught that one meaning of the Christian sacrament of baptism is that what God said to Jesus is true of us as well, that we too are beloved children of God, with whom God is well pleased.

Do these words really describe how God feels about humanity?

All my life, I was taught that God loves each and every one of us, but somewhere - probably my fundamentalist Christian school - I got it into my head that God's hatred for sin far outweighs God's love for us.  Given what I was taught, what other conclusion was I supposed to reach?  Why else would Jesus have to come to earth and die just to get God to forgive us?  Why else would God turn away from God's own Son while He bore the sin of humanity on the Cross?  Why else does a vast majority of humanity still end up burning in hell for eternity, despite Jesus' sacrifice?¹

God was "well pleased" with Jesus, but Jesus was without sin.

I am sinful, so I am problematic to God.

How can God truly love me?

We play a lot of semantic games with the word love.  For example, I've heard people say, "You don't have to like everyone, but you have to love everyone."  In this case, does the word love really mean anything more than not hating someone?

Do we even have any idea what the word love means at all?

I wonder if, when many of us say that God loves us, what we really mean is that God puts up with us.  We're far too sinful to hope for any more.

What if the words that God the Father said to Jesus on the day of His baptism really are true about each of us - that each of us is a child of God, that God loves each of us, and that God is well pleased with each of us?

What if God doesn't merely put up with us?

What if God actually delights in us?

What if God's hatred for sin is secondary to God's love for us?  Better yet, what if God's hatred for sin is rooted in God's love for us?  It has been said, "God hates sin, not because of what it does to Him, but because of what it does to us."²  In other words, like any good parent, God hates the things that hurts God's children.  Jesus, the Son of God, did not have a problem with "sinners" - the tax collectors and prostitutes - He had a problem with the fundamentalists who would not accept them.  He compared God to a shepherd of a very large flock who searched far and wide for one missing sheep and to a father who threw a welcome-home party for his wayward son without even listening to his apology.³

It all seems too good to be true, but I've heard that, when it comes to God, if an idea seems too good to be true, it's close to the truth.⁴


Notes:

1. I no longer believe these things, but the trauma caused by such teachings still remains.
2. A. James Bernstein.  Surprised by Christ: My Journey from Judaism to Orthodox Christianity.  2008, Conciliar Press.  p. 259
3. Luke 15
4. Greg Boyd.  "Escaping the Twilight Zone God."  Woodland Hills Church, 05/05/2013.

The photograph featured in this introspection has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Perspective: Stumbling on the Path

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Stumbling on the Path

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV)

So you think you can see inside my mind?

You probably could if you just took a little time

I know exactly what you're trying to say

But sitting in the stands ain't the same as playing the game

So I can't comprehend in my mind

Just why we can't leave it all behind

So come on, and stand beside, and hold the line

'Cause tonight is the night we cry

You can't bring me down!

From "Bring Me Down" by Pillar

Jesus has some strong words regarding anything or anyone that causes His followers to "stumble," figuratively speaking.  He says, "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea."  He goes on to say that a person should get rid of anything that might cause him or her to stumble, even it means amputating a hand, a foot, or an eye.¹

We typically associate spiritual "stumbling" with a lapse in judgment, and we typically think of a "stumbling block" as someone or something that encourages bad behavior.  Though I think there is some truth to these conventional understandings of stumbling, I think there is more to it.  It is worth noting that Jesus is using a walking metaphor.  Imagine that you are walking along a path, when you suddenly trip over something you did not see - a "stumbling block," if you will - and fall to the ground, scraping yourself up.  Your journey has been interrupted, and you just might feel discouraged from continuing on the path.

John, one of the twelve Disciples, tells Jesus that he saw a man casting a demon out of a person in Jesus' name and that he ordered the man to stop since he was not one of the twelve chosen by Jesus.  Jesus scolds John for stopping the man, identifies the man as an ally of theirs, and tells John that any good deed done in His name, be it great or small, will be remembered by God.  It is then that Jesus makes His strong statement about causing people to stumble.²  Is Jesus suggesting that John had caused someone to stumble by discouraging him from doing a good work?

The man John confronted was casting a demon out of someone.  In other words, he was liberating someone from a source of oppression and torment.  It is the type of work that Jesus did and sent His followers out to do.³  John basically discouraged the man from doing something followers of Jesus do.

Perhaps we stumble when we allow ourselves to be hindered from following the paths God has given us, and perhaps we act as stumbling blocks when we discourage others from following the paths God has given them.

One day, Jesus starts warning the Disciples that, once He reaches Jerusalem, He will suffer greatly at the hands of the religious leaders.  He will be put to death, and He will later be raised from the dead.  The disciple Peter takes Jesus aside and tells Him that he will not allow such a thing to happen to Him.  Jesus then rebukes Peter, going so far as to call him Satan, and tells him that he is being a stumbling block.⁴

Notice that, though Jesus is calling Peter out for being a stumbling block, Peter is not trying to get Jesus to do anything wrong.  On the contrary, he is trying to protect Him.  Peter is not trying to get Jesus into trouble: he's trying to keep Him out of trouble.  Peter has nothing but the best of intentions, yet he is still acting as a stumbling block because he is trying to come between Jesus and the path set before Him.  Jesus is meant to go to Jerusalem and to take a stand against the powers that be - a stand that will ultimately cost Him His life.  Jesus is also meant to triumph over the powers that be and even over death itself by rising from the grave, thereby freeing us all from the fear of death.

Apparently we can potentially cause people to stumble, even when our intentions for them are good.

Jesus does not mince words when addressing the things that trip people up.  He even goes so far as to say that we should amputate one of our own limbs if it is keeping us from following the path He has shown us.

In the spring of 2003, Aron Ralston went hiking alone in the Blue John Canyon in Utah.  At one point, as he was descending from a bolder, the boulder gave way and pinned his right arm to the canyon wall.  He was trapped with no way of calling for help.  To make matters worse, he had not told anyone where he was going, so nobody knew where to look for him.  Four days later, Ralston managed to successfully cut off his own arm, freeing himself from his predicament.  He made his way out of the canyon and was rescued a few hours later.⁵

Ralston faced a situation in which his right arm was literally keeping him from continuing his journey.  He had to choose between perishing with his arm and sacrificing his arm to keep moving and survive.  He chose the latter, and he lived to tell his story.  Could Jesus be addressing the spiritual equivalent of such a situation?

Jesus says that we are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the word."  Salt can lose its flavor, but it is meant to season.  A light can be covered, but it is meant to illuminate.⁶  Likewise, we are meant to be everything God created us to be, but we are fully capable of being so much less.  If we are to be what God created us to be, then we must not allow anything to prevent us from following the paths God has given us.  When something weighs us down, we must leave it behind; when obstacles block the way, we must do what it takes to overcome them; and, when we fall on our faces, we must get back up and keep moving.


Notes:

1. Mark 9:42-48 (NRSV)
2. Mark 9:38-41
3. Mark 6:7
4. Matthew 16:21-23
5. Wikipedia: "Aron Ralston"
6. Matthew 5:13-16

The photograph of Blue John Canyon was taken by Michael Grindstaff and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.