What other scriptures emphasize the importance of storing treasures in heaven? Setting the Stage: Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus links heart and treasure in one straight line. Everything that follows in Scripture about “treasure in heaven” fleshes out this same truth. Jesus’ Own Words on Storing Heavenly Wealth • Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” • Matthew 19:21 – “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” • Mark 10:21 – “One thing you lack… sell whatever you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” • Luke 18:22 – “Sell all you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” – In each scene Jesus presses the same issue: earthly assets are temporary; heavenly treasure is eternal and worth any sacrifice. Paul’s Counsel on Eternal Investments • 1 Timothy 6:17-19 – “Instruct those who are rich… to do good, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future.” • Colossians 3:1-4 – “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” The heart looks longest at what it values most. • 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – “For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory… we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” Earth-centered eyesight blurs eternity. Early Church Living It Out • Hebrews 10:34-35 – “You joyfully accepted the confiscation of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.” • Acts 2:45 – “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” First-century believers took Jesus’ words literally and redirected their treasure into eternal accounts. Old Testament Echoes • Proverbs 11:4 – “Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” • Psalm 49:16-17 – “Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich… for when he dies, he will take nothing with him.” The principle is timeless: eternal righteousness outlasts temporal riches. Putting It Into Practice • Evaluate where giving, serving, and daily choices are investing: fleeting earth or forever heaven? • Redirect resources—time, skills, finances—into gospel-centered work and needy lives. • Remember: every act of faithful stewardship is a deposit no thief can touch and no market can crash. |
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