Lay Up Treasures

August 25

One of the traits of successful people is the ability to project into the future. Oh, no, they don’t have a crystal ball but they do possess a power of observation of trends and an understanding of statistics that enables them to assess current conditions and to extrapolate from them the logical progression of things into the future.

This is particularly helpful where matters of money and investment are concerned. Most successful people have an affinity for weighing market trends and investment opportunities, and, from what they observe in the present, they are able to formulate strategies that enable them to attain success in the future—at least most of the time.

But James, the brother of Jesus challenges this in his book. He says, “You can’t begin to know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes? Rather than rely upon your vision of the future, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’” James 4:14, 15. It is not so much that James is advocating that we lay common sense aside but that in all our planning for and charting our future course, we recognize that God is sovereign.

We cannot help but think of the rich man who planned to tear down his barn and build a larger one (Luke 12:18) for storing his goods and resting in his prosperity, without knowing that his soul would be required of him that night. When we are surrendered to the Lord, He can guide us into the fullness of blessings that He desires to bestow upon us and we will not neglect to, “…lay up treasures in heaven,” for that will indeed be, where our true treasure and “…our heart” are. (Luke 12:34)