WHERE IS YOUR HEART?
For most people if you asked
them this question they might look a bit oddly at you and say, ¡§well it¡¦s the same place as yours; on the left side of my
chest¡¨. That would be an accurate answer from a physical point of view but when
the bible talks about the heart, usually it has to do
with our affections, priorities and dedication.
In this week¡¦s reflection I would like to
draw attention to a verse found in the gospel of Luke. It is a simple verse yet
deep in its truth and meaning. ¡§For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also¡¨. (Luke 12:34) It is also found in (Matthew 6:21)
in a section of scripture where the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to a multitude
beginning with ¡§the Beatitudes¡¨.
My
desire though is to focus in Luke because of the context in which it is written
there. We need to go back to the beginning of chapter 12 to get the connection.
Jesus challenges the multitude he is speaking to, warning them to be careful of
the leaven of the Pharisees. Leaven often is referred to as sin in the
scriptures and here the sin is hypocrisy, which was prevalent amongst these
religious leaders. The problem with this group of men was that often they wore
a mask of piety but in reality they were spiritual frauds. Jesus in the first three
verses is saying, ¡§don¡¦t be like this, be real¡¨. In
the following four verses the Lord teaches that fearing God should be a
priority of our heart and not the people around us, the ridicule, the
challenges to our faith are all external influences that come and go and even
if we died for our faith, it does not compare to the value that God puts on us
individually. This is seen specifically in (Luke 12:6-7); God puts value on the
birds of the air and knows an insignificant fact of how many hairs we have on
our head! When someone cares about the small things in our lives it shows they
truly love us. From (verses 8-12) the challenge is to align ourselves with what
we believe. The words used in these verses are strong and clear, but the
thought that comes through is in (verse 12) where the Holy Spirit will give you
the right words in difficult circumstances; be faithful to God, give Him
priority, dedication your affection and He will sustain you in whatever you
face.
As
the next section unfolds, someone in the crowd desires to know what the Lord
Jesus thinks about their personal problem with a family member who is not
acting righteously regarding the family inheritance. The Lord responds with
something they may not have expected, he mentions that greed and building
personal wealth can take you away from what is really important in life, the person wanted an arbitrator. In (verses 13-21) a parable
is communicated about a man who did exactly that, he put all his effort into
building his personal fortune thinking he had time to enjoy it. God called him
a ¡§fool¡¨. As the parable states, he
died suddenly, he had nothing as he went into eternity and his treasure was
left behind on earth. In regards to eternity he was bankrupt.
In
the following section from (verses 22-34), the Lord encourages the disciples to
get a proper perspective on life. He says, true treasure comes from putting our
complete faith in God, that He will provide what we need, added to this he said
that anxiety is a waste of time and effort and seeking God¡¦s kingdom (verse 31)
is where true treasure is found. This doesn¡¦t mean we are irresponsible and
careless in how we live, the value of work and assuming responsibility is
supported in scripture such as found in (Ephesians 6). The emphasis here is to
allow your affections, your priorities and your dedication be found trusting in
the finished work of Christ and God¡¦s eternal purposes. As it says, ¡§your heart will be found in
the place where your treasure is¡¨. So, the question is; where is your heart?
By: David
R. Jones