"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
A very rich woman died and went to Heaven. Outside the Pearly Gates, she met St. Peter.
“Welcome!” Peter said, “Come in and I will show you your new home”.
The woman followed Peter and soon came to a beautiful mansion. “This must
be my new home”, she said. “It looks very much like my home on earth”.
Peter, however, said, “No! That is not your home”.
They continued to walk and came to another very impressive mansion. The woman thought, “Well, this must be my new home”, but Peter walked past this house as well.
Soon, they left that neighbourhood and moved into one filled with more modest dwellings. “I guess I could be happy here”, she thought, but Peter kept walking.
After a while, Peter stopped in front of a very small, one room hut. “Here is your new home”, he said.
The woman was flabbergasted and furious. “What! How can this little shack be my home for all eternity?” she sputtered.
“Well”, Peter replied, “We built what we could with the material that you sent up”.
Usually, I do not like stories like that one. I prefer illustrations that are based in real life rather than made up ones, but I like that story. Oh, I know that we likely will not live in “mansions” in heaven. I doubt that heaven really has “Pearly Gates” or that “Saint Peter” will meet you there. Most of those details are just similes or metaphors – comparisons to help us to understand something that we have never seen. I do, however, like the point that the story makes and some of the questions that it raises.
“What are you spending your life on?”
“What are you building?”
“Where is your heart?”
“When you get to the end of this life, will you be happy with the result?”
“What are you sending ahead?”
Last week, I did a memorial service for a man that I did not know. When I asked the family to tell me about their Dad, they immediately began to talk about relationships, character traits and love. No one mentioned the car he drove, how much money he had in the bank or his yearly income. When they thought about their Dad, they thought about the important things.
Please make your funeral easy for your preacher.
Store up a treasure that means something both now and in eternity.
A very rich woman died and went to Heaven. Outside the Pearly Gates, she met St. Peter.
“Welcome!” Peter said, “Come in and I will show you your new home”.
The woman followed Peter and soon came to a beautiful mansion. “This must
be my new home”, she said. “It looks very much like my home on earth”.
Peter, however, said, “No! That is not your home”.
They continued to walk and came to another very impressive mansion. The woman thought, “Well, this must be my new home”, but Peter walked past this house as well.
Soon, they left that neighbourhood and moved into one filled with more modest dwellings. “I guess I could be happy here”, she thought, but Peter kept walking.
After a while, Peter stopped in front of a very small, one room hut. “Here is your new home”, he said.
The woman was flabbergasted and furious. “What! How can this little shack be my home for all eternity?” she sputtered.
“Well”, Peter replied, “We built what we could with the material that you sent up”.
Usually, I do not like stories like that one. I prefer illustrations that are based in real life rather than made up ones, but I like that story. Oh, I know that we likely will not live in “mansions” in heaven. I doubt that heaven really has “Pearly Gates” or that “Saint Peter” will meet you there. Most of those details are just similes or metaphors – comparisons to help us to understand something that we have never seen. I do, however, like the point that the story makes and some of the questions that it raises.
“What are you spending your life on?”
“What are you building?”
“Where is your heart?”
“When you get to the end of this life, will you be happy with the result?”
“What are you sending ahead?”
Last week, I did a memorial service for a man that I did not know. When I asked the family to tell me about their Dad, they immediately began to talk about relationships, character traits and love. No one mentioned the car he drove, how much money he had in the bank or his yearly income. When they thought about their Dad, they thought about the important things.
Please make your funeral easy for your preacher.
Store up a treasure that means something both now and in eternity.
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