“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21)
Dear friends, Advent is upon us! As I was preparing for this new season, I was looking at several Advent study books. In one, Christmas Gifts that won’t Break, the author, James W. Moore, was remembering a Christmas where his son’s brand new toy broke several hours into Christmas Day. His young son came to him crying in despair, “Daddy, my Christmas is broken already!”
As Moore was reflecting on that Christmas Day and the above passage from Matthew, he said, “Jesus was giving us a much-needed warning. He was saying, in effect, ‘Be careful now. Don’t get your heart too set on material things. Material things aren’t permanent. They wear out, they break, they erode, they go out of fashion, they can be lost or stolen. Material things are nice, but don’t get too attached to them. Rather, build your happiness on things you cannot lose, on things that are independent of the chances and the changes of life.’”
Having just celebrated and given thanks for the blessings we have received as individuals, families, communities and a nation, I wonder, if going forward into Advent, we might look anew at our blessings and reflect on them as Christmas gifts that won’t break. What are the treasures of our hearts? What are the treasures we have “stored in heaven” that cannot break? There are many, of course.
In this four-week season of Advent, we will focus on four gifts, four treasures, as represented by the four Advent candles we will light: hope, love, joy and peace. I pray, that as we reflect of these gifts we receive from God, that we will be so blessed we will be persuaded to bless others with Christmas Gifts that won’t break!
God’s blessings of hope, love, joy and peace!
where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21)
Dear friends, Advent is upon us! As I was preparing for this new season, I was looking at several Advent study books. In one, Christmas Gifts that won’t Break, the author, James W. Moore, was remembering a Christmas where his son’s brand new toy broke several hours into Christmas Day. His young son came to him crying in despair, “Daddy, my Christmas is broken already!”
As Moore was reflecting on that Christmas Day and the above passage from Matthew, he said, “Jesus was giving us a much-needed warning. He was saying, in effect, ‘Be careful now. Don’t get your heart too set on material things. Material things aren’t permanent. They wear out, they break, they erode, they go out of fashion, they can be lost or stolen. Material things are nice, but don’t get too attached to them. Rather, build your happiness on things you cannot lose, on things that are independent of the chances and the changes of life.’”
Having just celebrated and given thanks for the blessings we have received as individuals, families, communities and a nation, I wonder, if going forward into Advent, we might look anew at our blessings and reflect on them as Christmas gifts that won’t break. What are the treasures of our hearts? What are the treasures we have “stored in heaven” that cannot break? There are many, of course.
In this four-week season of Advent, we will focus on four gifts, four treasures, as represented by the four Advent candles we will light: hope, love, joy and peace. I pray, that as we reflect of these gifts we receive from God, that we will be so blessed we will be persuaded to bless others with Christmas Gifts that won’t break!
God’s blessings of hope, love, joy and peace!
