Things Temporary and Things Eternal

***I get to give a devotional for the adults at an Upward basketball game tomorrow, and thought I would share my thoughts with you too.

Matthew 6: 25-33
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature  And why take ye thought for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take not thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or Wherewithall shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  

The two most common questions asked around my house are, “What should I wear?” and “What’s for dinner?”  When I get up in the morning my first concern is always, “What am I going to wear?” Sometimes the answer is as simple as going to my closet, picking out a shirt, and grabbing a pair of blue jeans. Other days I find myself rifling through the dirty clothes basket hoping to find a pair of pants my son hasn’t already been spit up on!

Once I decide what to wear, I inevitably start thinking about what I’m going to make for dinner. My husband is always hungry, and with a baby around the house it can take me all day to get supper on the table.

I think it’s natural that we often concern ourselves with the things we need. We need clothing and food to survive. We need to be well nourished and protected from the elements. However, it’s important that we recognize that even though these things are necessary, they are temporary. No matter how much I eat I will always get hungry again. Laundry is never ending because we are constantly looking for something to wear!

But the Bible tells us that there are concerns in life that are more than temporary; they are eternal. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells his disciples to seek first the things of God and his righteousness.  Jesus tells them not to worry about what they will eat or what they will wear, because they have more important things to think about.  And like them, we too should be concerned about the things of God. We should concern ourselves first and foremost with our salvation and the salvation of our children.  Have you decided to follow Christ? Have you put your trust in him for eternal life knowing that you will never be good enough to earn your way into heaven?

I also wonder how different our homes would be if the most common questions we asked ourselves were about the thing of God instead of temporary things. Are you doing your best to show your love of God by obeying his commandments? Are you doing your best to serve your family and to love your enemies?”

These things may not seem like necessities to us. The things of God like prayer, Bible Study, and church often get put on the back burner. We get caught up in worry about temporary things and forget to seek after the righteousness of God, but God promises that if we will trust him and seek after Him, he will provide everything we need.  

In Matthew 6:20, we are also told to “lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.” You see food spoils, clothes wear out.  The stuff we have like our homes, cars, and our phones, they break. These things don’t last forever. However, the time and money we spend investing in God’s Word, investing in our children, investing in our church families, that time is laid up for us as treasures in heaven. It won’t corrupt; it won’t fade; it won’t break; and we can’t lose it!

So today, when your kids start asking what’s for lunch, remember that there are things in life even more important than food and clothing; because the things of God last forever, and where our treasure is there our hearts will be also.