Greetings everyone and welcome to today's edition of ...
Learn and Grow with Jesus EVERYDAY
Today's Topic is: Treasure
Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Bible Reading: Luke 12:32-34 NIV
“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 never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:32-34 NIV
Discussion Question: Is God your treasure?
Treasures are not just expensive things we acquire but are also people and institutions we value greatly, support and protect at all costs. Simply put, the value we place on a person, place or thing, is one of the important factors that determine whether it qualifies as a treasure or not to us. What may be very treasurable to you, may be a complete piece of trash to another. Treasures are subjective, hence the saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure and vice versa.
There are people we respect a great deal and place a very high premium on our relationship or friendship with them, because of what they represent, and the value they add to our lives. In other words, they are priceless to us and we treasure them unapologetically. There are institutions or establishments that made a profound impact on our lives and helped to shape who we are and the outcome of our lives. We treasure and support these institutions and establishments both morally and financially as a token of our appreciation and gratitude for the impact they had on our lives and the role they played in elevating us to the upper echelon of our career success and financial breakthrough. There are also cultures, ideologies, traditions, and belief systems that we treasure profoundly and even sponsor any effort that promotes and passes them on to generations unborn because of the intrinsic value and importance we place on them.
All the above goes to underscore the fact that our individual value systems determine what is and what is not a treasure to us.
Having established that, ask yourself, "Do I really treasure God?" You probably said, " Of course, absolutely ". Now, let pass your affirmation through an acid test...
One calendar year is equivalent to 8760 hours. If you have lived at least 25 years, you have expended 219,000 hours already. Of those years, you probably slept an average of 6.5 hours/day, meaning you have actually slept through 59,312 hours of your life. That means in 25 years, you have been awake for only 159,687 hours.
Let's not worry about all the time you spent brushing your teeth, eating, taking a shower, dressing up, driving to school or work, visiting friends, playing games, or even going to school or taking classes. Let's say for all those activities you probably have spent 30,000 hours, give or take. That leaves you with 129,687 hours in 25 years you've been alive. Now, how much of those hours have you spent with and on God?
You guessed it, probably less than 500 hours in 25 years. Now, is God still your treasure? Now do the same math and figure out how many hours you spent acquiring education, though very important, but does not have eternal value. How many hours you spent on social media. How many hours you have spent partying, dating, and on other things you have placed higher than God on your priority list, and yet, God is the most valuable of all.
You see why it will be impossible for you to convince Jesus that you love Him and want to spend eternity with Him when you barely spend anytime with Him or on Him while on earth. When you barely talk to Him, spend time in His Word or do anything that has eternal value?
Need I say more? A word is enough for the wise. Where a man's treasure is there also is his heart. Go figure.
Stay uplifted in Christ always and live Cheerfully every day.
Leader Chinedu Nicholas Obodo for EXOLOM Fellowship. Find us at exolom.com
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