{"id":1306,"date":"2013-06-04T12:52:37","date_gmt":"2013-06-04T12:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/new\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2013-06-04T12:52:37","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T12:52:37","slug":"hidden-treasure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/?p=1306","title":{"rendered":"Hidden Treasure"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Originally published in Fort Bend Herald]<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0It seems we all have pursuits in our lives which honestly are of no measurable eternal consequence.\u00a0 Simply put, we collect things that we perceive to enrich our lives in some tangible way, but that will most certainly be left behind for others to fight over when we depart from this Earth.\u00a0 From the time of our first job a wish list is started of things that we will pursue and draw satisfaction from owning, using and maintaining; with the latter being the most difficult commitment of product ownership of all.<\/p>\n

The fleeting nature of \u201cstuff\u201d has been recently illustrated to me through a classic Robalo boat.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been around boats all my life and from young adulthood have continually either pursued or endured boat ownership.\u00a0 My current claim is a twenty five year old vessel that has truly surprised me with its quality, durability \u2013 and constant upkeep.<\/p>\n

Being a salt water boat, rust is a constant enemy.\u00a0 I recently acquired and rebuilt a trailer to haul the thing around at great expense of both finance and time invested.\u00a0 That trailer has now been to the water three times and is already showing that faint, tell-tale sign of fresh rust on the springs, which I coated exceptionally well in a rust-blocking agent.\u00a0 The clock is ticking.\u00a0 I have three years before redoing the suspension.<\/p>\n

If the trailer were the only maintenance concern I would probably gain two years of livelihood by the end.\u00a0 But, the fact is that every single portion of this blessed mission of mine deteriorates with a vengeance.\u00a0 Trailer lights are rewired every few years due to salt water infiltration destroying the copper wiring.\u00a0 The exterior of the boat must be regularly deoxidized, waxed and repaired from sun damage, nicks and scrapes.\u00a0 The gauges take turns in monthly increments giving up the ghost while the engine could write its own factory service manual at this point.\u00a0 The simple fact is, I actually plan out \u2013 to the best of my entirely ignorant reckoning \u2013 what I expect to break next and how I will have the funding, time and knowledge to repair it when it does.\u00a0 If I were not a bit of a masochist, actually enjoying<\/i> my labors on this eternal project of a possession, I might be inclined to let her win quickly and just sink her to the bottom of the ocean.<\/p>\n

It is no wonder to me that Jesus said, \u201cDo not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.\u201d Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)<\/b><\/p>\n

There exist irreconcilable differences between every atom in this created universe and our own eternal nature and calling.\u00a0 As it has wisely been stated, \u201cyou can\u2019t take it with you,\u201d we might also consider the question, \u201cwhy would we want to?\u201d\u00a0 The scriptures teach us that we who are in Christ will one day be resurrected to new bodies, impervious to degradation or death.\u00a0 We will be ushered into an eternal dwelling place likewise equipped with interminable wealth requiring no maintenance whatsoever.\u00a0 Until then, Jesus informs us that we have the privilege of storing up true treasure for that day.<\/p>\n

When the gospel is shared, eternal treasure is built.\u00a0 When we serve others in Christ\u2019s name, every hour spent yields countless benefit compared to beating our heads against our temporal projects.\u00a0 How ironic that so often we find ourselves serving our Lord in ministry capacities only if we perceive ourselves \u201cto have the time\u201d from our pursuit of fretting over that which perishes.\u00a0 May we rather pursue first<\/i> that which is eternally rewarding, and only then \u201cif we have time\u201d turn our attention to that which we bother to hang onto for a little while. (Mat 6:33)\u00a0 May our desires be to keep those things \u2013 and our true treasure \u2013 in their proper perspectives.\u00a0 The stuff we can<\/i> take with us is all that will matter on that day \u2013 even while others haggle over the remnants of our rotting possessions left behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Originally published in Fort Bend Herald] \u00a0It seems we all have pursuits in our lives which honestly are of no measurable eternal consequence.\u00a0 Simply put, we collect things that we perceive to enrich our lives in some tangible way, but that will most certainly be left behind for others to fight over when we depart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fseries&post=1306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}