I treasure so many things:

My bible. It’s gotten me through the last 7 years. Without it, I would be lost.

My coffee. Thank you Jesus for coffee…and creamer.

My sweet husband. Clearly, these are not listed in order of importance…

My four beautiful children. They are a gift, even though they mostly make me nuts.

My house. Every.square.inch has been remodeled by my hubby with the help of Pinterest.

My sweat pants. Just keeping it real. I live in them and will probably be buried in them.

My alone time. And not just in the bathroom with the door locked. Amiright?

My amazing family and friends. You know who you are. You are a blessing!

Last, but actually first, I treasure my relationship with Jesus. Reckless abandon after him is my goal. It’s my one desire.

He’s my #1 treasure.

But it wasn’t always that way.

My faith used to be for show, a role that I played.

I looked the part, too. I said all the right things and volunteered in all the rights places and sang at the top of my lungs on a church stage.

But Jesus wasn’t really my treasure.

I was.

I treasured me.

And the bible is clear that wherever your treasure is, there your heart is also (Matthew 6:21).

Well, my treasure was with my happiness.  Whatever I wanted. Whatever made me look good and made me more wealthy and produced the praise of others. I loved all things Minta.

Therefore, my heart was filled with selfishness and pride. If you looked at my bank account, my time, and my efforts, you would have seen my self-centered priorities.

#cringe.

It’s embarrassing, but it’s the ugly truth.

I had this beautiful leather bible with my name embroidered on it, and it sat on my nightstand collecting dust. You know what I have learned? An unused, beautiful bible is not a treasure, it’s a decoration.

Just like faith is just a decoration if the heart hasn’t been transformed to treasure the saving relationship with Jesus above everything else.

Looking like a Christian on the outside doesn’t mean the heart treasures what is right on the inside. Funny how a person can look one way but really be another….like the Pharisees. They played the part of “being religious” too, but Jesus saw right through them.

He saw their self-indulgent, greedy hearts and said, “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You evil snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from a treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from a treasury of an evil heart.” (Matthew 12:33-34).

The Pharisees claimed that God was their treasure, but their fruit showed that they valued money and power and fame above their faith. They talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk. They rejected the very thing that they needed most: Jesus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t much different. For all of the years I was a Christian, I never put Jesus first and eventually, the bad fruit of my bad heart produced bad results. I lost my whole world because of sinful choices. 

In Matthew 13:44 Jesus shared this parable, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.”

In other words, saving faith is so valuable, it’s worth giving up everything on earth for.

And that kind of faith – the kind that is willing to sacrifice everything to gain Jesus- that is the real kind of faith.

It’s the litmus test to determine what your heart really treasures.

And eternity is on the line.

Because a heart that treasures Jesus is:

A heart that is excited to give up everything….EVERYTHING… to gain eternity with Christ.

A heart that is willing to forego all things material and all things self.

A heart that is happy to sacrifice, surrender, love radically, and be persecuted.

A heart that is bursting with desire to do whatever it takes to get into heaven.

Paul said it best in Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever gain I had, I count it as loss for the sake of Christ. I count everything as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered to lose all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

He gave up everything to follow Christ…and counted it as gain.

I dare say that I would give up everything…everything…if Jesus asked me to.

Every morning, on my knees, I surrender everything I have and all that I am and ask for his will to be done in my life.

And I mean it. I have done it. I have traded my dreams for his plan. I have swallowed my pride, been pruned, and made big changes. I’ve lost babies and relationships and trusted through it all. I’ve even stopped chasing outward appearance and chosen to invest that time in the Word to make my heart beautiful instead.

No matter the cost; reckless abandon after Christ.

Because I have been without him, and I know that life without Jesus is absolutely nothing at all.

It’s hopeless.

It’s dark.

It’s lonely.

It’s meaningless.

I know because I lived it.

And I realized that I have nothing apart from his goodness.

I am utterly dependent on him.

Desperately depraved.

Unworthy.

And I declare that his love is the greatest gift the world has ever known.

It’s worth giving up everything for.

Money.

Accolades.

Jobs.

Vacations.

Comfort.

Appearance.

Relationships.

 

All.of.it.

With joy.

To treasure him.

The one who is beyond compare and his unfathomable gift of love. 

I promise, no matter the cost, we are getting the good end of the deal.

Heaven will be worth whatever it takes.

 

Friends, I encourage you to get in the Word and get on your knees and seek the Savior. Surrender whatever he asks of you. Treasure him above everything you hold dear. Double check to make sure your actions line up with words. Triple check that your heart beats for him more than the things of this world.

It’s worth the price.

 

As always, I love hearing from you. Send me an email or comment below and I will get on my knees for you. Let’s do this faith journey together.