Your House is Going to Burn! What Will You Do With Your Stuff?

Did you hear about the guy who, even though he knew his house was going to burn, continued to fill it with every possession he had? Crazy? Well, yes. But my hunch is that you know this guy. In fact, he may be you. What am I talking about?

Just this: It is all going to burn. Read this prophecy:

“But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames”. 2 Peter 3: 10-12

Our cars — our houses — our bank accounts — our collectables – indeed everything we have accumulated – will all meet the same fate: fire.

“But Joe, I already know that I can’t take my stuff with me. What difference does it make if my stuff burns? I won’t be around anyway.”

You CAN take it with you.

Good point. Except for one thing: it is possible to take some of it with you. According to Jesus, all you need to do is store your treasures in heaven.

“Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” Mat 6:20

“OK. This is getting weird. How do I store treasures in heaven?”

I confess that I don’t have all the answers, but the key word has to be “eternal”. God is eternal. Heaven is eternal. Therefore, anything that we do which serves God’s purposes has eternal significance and will therefore transcend this current world into the future one. It doesn’t even have to be huge or dramatic, for Jesus promised that “whoever gives a cup of water because he belongs to Christ will by no means lose his reward”. Mark 9:41

Therefore, I am going to strive to lay up treasures in heaven. Will some of my stuff burn?  No doubt. Probably way too much.  But I like knowing that I am pulling stuff out of my earthly house instead of stacking it in.

After all, it is all going to burn.

Readers: I covet your thoughts.   Can you discern the difference between storing up goods on earth and storing up treasures in heaven?