I saw something on YouTube the once. A preacher had a jug, and he filled it with ping pong balls.
"These," he said, "are our earthly blessings".
So in other words, our houses, cars, holidays and all other material things that God has blessed us with. Then he proceeded to fill the jug with water. And he filled it, and continued to fill it while it spilled over. This was to demonstrate how God's blessings overflow unto us when we accept salvation!
Psalm 23:5 states; "my cup overflows with your blessings".
I loved this preacher's example of such a simple but powerful analogy of showing how God's blessings work in our lives!
While I was thinking on this visual, I thought about how it could be expanded; if the water evaporated and rose up, the way our souls will rise up to meet Jesus, what remains in the jug? The ping pong balls - our earthly treasures!
You cannot take your house, your car or any of your material belongings with you to heaven. The ancient Egyptians believed the material went with the soul to what they believed to be "the other side". But of course, all the discoveries of the mummies by archaeologists over the years prove that the prized possessions of all the pharaohs simply rotted alongside the body of the pharaoh, preserved only by the fact they've been entombed for thousands of years. Sometimes they'd be stolen from the tombs by grave robbers.
Knowing this, it's imperative as Christians that we don't lose sight of what's important! God wants us to have nice things and material possessions in our lives, he wants to bless us and make us comfortable. But he doesn't want us to focus on chasing these things when we should be chasing Jesus, and growing our relationship with him!
20Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
(Matthew 6:20)
The trouble with our material possessions is that none of them are permanent. They can be burned, broken, stolen etc. The treasures we store up in heaven cannot be taken away by any means.
So, what are these treasures? They are the rewards for the works we do alongside our faith that are carried with us as long as they are done for God's glory, and not our own. We are not saved by our works, we are saved through faith. But our works demonstrate commitment to God and determine the rewards we receive in heaven. Psalm 16:11 states "you make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore".
The way society tries to shape us, we are programmed to to always be chasing the next best thing. You have a house, but you want a bigger one. You have a car, but you want another. You have a job that pays plenty, but you've seen another advertised that pays more. While there is nothing wrong with any of these things, be wary of chasing the material, of focusing too much on achieving material gain, as these things can become idols as they force us to take our eyes off the real prize that is to be had, when chasing a life with Jesus!
For it is living a life with Christ at the centre that we find true fulfilment and joy, that nothing in this world can replicate.