Kingdom Wealth – Part IV
Key Verse: Luke 12:21
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God”.
Additional Reading: Luke 12:13-34
In my opinion there is a second key verse besides the one above. It is the last verse of the Additional Reading: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Luke 12:34).
Jesus didn’t give this as a command, but rather He is giving it as a simple fact! Jesus is calling His followers to make Him the top treasure of their life because He knows that is the only way to truly get His follower’s hearts! Jesus came to give us far more than another religion, He came to give us an intimate relationship with God.
Whenever you spend enough time with a friend, it won’t be long until you’ll know the desires of their heart because you’ll see their top treasures of their life. You can practice a religion without giving it your heart, but you’ll never have an intimate relationship with God.
The easiest way to examine your heart is to look at your treasures. Treasures are persons or things that we value so highly that we’d pay any price to keep. We spend as much time with these persons or things as possible.
Does that definition describe your relationship with God? Would you sacrifice all other things in your life, if it were necessary to keep your relationship with God? God will seldom ask a person to give up everything in their life for Him. However, God wants to know that we would if He asked us to.
You probably have heard the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. In Genesis 22, we read these words from God to Abraham: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah”. Abraham was told to offer his son as a sacrifice on a mountain that God would show him, as they got closer. Abraham immediately obeys and prepared for the journey. When he was about to sacrifice Isaac, God stepped in and stopped him, saying: “don’t lay a hand on the boy… now I know that you truly fear God…” (Luke 12:9-13).
I know that story, in our modern-day ears, creates a lot of questions about God. However, don’t miss the lesson of the story, God wants our hearts to desire Him above all else in our lives.
The Bible says the heart can be deceitful above all else. So when I talk to God about my heart’s desires, I simply tell God He has my permission to do what He must to keep me loving Him above all else. Maybe that would be a good prayer for you today!
Father, I don’t want my top treasure to be anything or anyone but you. Please do your work in me so that I will always keep you first in my life. I ask this in Jesus’s Name, amen.