Sell all that you have!

Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.

Luke 18:22

 

 

I’ve pondered over that verse for years.   Certainly, God has called us to give monetarily to the poor.  But today my eyes seemed to come to a screeching halt when I read the phrase, “all that you have”.   The word “all” seemed to blink like a neon sign.  Could it be that God gives us permission to own things but simultaneously asks us to possess nothing?  I wonder if He is asking us to regularly evaluate our lives to make sure we are not clinging too tightly to the things we have and, quite possibly, even throws tests our way on occasion.

 

Just this morning, as I went about my routine of straightening up my house, God gave me the opportunity for self evaluation as I discovered that one of my children had left a glass on my beautiful dining room table overnight.  Now, an ugly water ring has permanently scarred my lovely table.  Just as I rubbed my fingers over the damage, the offending child walked into the room.  Choking back a verbal assault, I instead mumbled, “Give Mom just a minute”.  In that moment, God reminded me that I cherish my child much more than any wooden object.   God comforted my heart and calmed my fury.  He offered me an opportunity to show grace.   He reminded me that life is full of scars, but it is also full of joy that comes from relationships with people and not from possessing things that will one day be destroyed by moth and rust (Matt 6:19).   Matthew 6:21 goes on to say, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”   I talked to my child about being more careful, but by God’s grace, I didn’t explode.  Remembering, God’s precious Word “in the moment” prevented a different kind of scar because I would never want my kids to doubt they are my treasure and mean more to me than any earthly possession ever could. 

 

Since the beginning of time, mankind has clung to worthless idols.   Oh, we may have stopped carving little men to worship, but we can quickly fall into treasuring things that don’t really matter.  A long time ago, my kids sang a song at VBS.   The lyrics said, “Don’t bow down to idols.  Idols don’t love you.”  How true.   Instead, may we store up real treasures in Heaven.  May we live our lives focusing on eternal things and not confuse real treasures with empty material possessions that can never love us back.   May we daily remember God’s precious Word; and submit to His will in the trials, the tests, and the triumphs.  

 

Prayer:  Father, help me see those things in my life that I am tempted to let possess me.   Help me to see the eternal and care less about the temporal.  Please keep me from allowing worthless idols to steal my joy or cause others pain.  Help me to possess nothing.   Help me to love others deeply and show grace as You have shown me.  Thank you Lord for your precious Word.  Help me to follow you in all things.  Amen.