But seek his kingdom, and these things [provisions] will be given to you as well.
"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. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:31-34)
Jesus makes it clear to us that if we put Him first, we’ll have what we need to get the job done. After all, our Father is pleased to give us the kingdom. It’s the next part we don’t like, but Jesus is essentially restating what He already covered: don’t put things first, put God first. If we do, we’ll store up treasure in heaven that is safe.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…
Some of us have a little earthly treasure here and some have more or even a lot, but where is the bulk of your treasure? Some of us live in fear, protecting our treasures because it’s “all we’ve got.” Is there a sadder expression of poverty than that? We justify our selfishness because we don’t enough to go around.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about the truly destitute or poverty-stricken. I’m talking about Christians who live in their comfortable house with a comfortable job, living a comfortable life. Instead of sharing and being a blessing, they gather in until “someday” when they have enough, they’ll give something to God.
Back to the question I posed in the title, Can God trust you? Usually, we think in terms of trusting God, but something rose up in me as I read these verses recently that I want to be trustworthy to Him. It hit me in a different way when I read, “your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
He doesn’t make it so difficult that only the few can receive. It’s wide open—for anyone who will believe. You don’t have to gain a certain level of prominence, intelligence, beauty, or anything else. Instead, you have to have faith that as you obey you’re storing up treasures in heaven, trusting that the God who called you will never fail.
God very much impressed on me as 2010 started that comfortable obedience is not going to cut it. It’s not that this doesn’t honor God, but He is calling us higher. God challenged me personally in the area of giving.
My wife and I have been faithful tithers (giving 10% of our income) since the early days of our marriage. We had next to nothing, but we noticed when we gave first that everything stretched further and God somehow provided in the most amazing way. Now, over ten years later, we haven’t looked back.
I am, in fact, one of those weirdos who love to write our tithe checks. I smile all the way, the bigger, the better! So imagine my surprise when God showed me I was comfortable in that obedience and challenged me to step out in faith.My wife and I are by no means wealthy, but we aren’t poor either. We may have to cut back on some “necessities” that are really luxuries to give the way I feel we’re to give this year, but the question resounds in my heart, where is your treasure? Yesterday, I wrote a check that was the first step of this.
My Father is pleased to give me the kingdom! I don’t want to hold on to the earthly side of things, preferring the corruptible to the incorruptible. Whether finances or anything else, I want to move past my comfortable obedience and walk where He shows me.
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