Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:18, 19 NIV)
Being that it is still Lent, I know it is a little early to be talking about resurrection; but I have just come from a Bible study reatreat called "Wild Women's Weekend" at Lutheridge. The Bible study topic this year was Resurrection. This is my third year at the retreat and I always come back with so much new knowledge and understanding... and a whole lot of devotional material!
When we think about resurrection, we normally think about Easter and Jesus walking out of the tomb. Sometimes we think of our own eventual resurrection that is to come. But really, our whole lives are about resurrection. Resurrection is about new life and if we are really living, then we are constantly dying and renewing... dying and renewing.
I remember my mother once remarked about watching her six children grow up... that it was almost like after each stage of life, that... infant, toddler, small child, adolescent, teenager... died and the the next stage was the new life. She would mourn the stage past, but look forward with excitement to the next stage. It was only "almost" like dying because all the the experience, knowledge and life from the earlier stages always moved on to the next stage. We carry it all with us.
Our WHOLE lives are like that. We grow and learn and experience and live and move on through the stages of our lives bringing all that with us to the next stage and the next stage. We die and resurrect... die and resurrect. Each time we are more and more fully ourselves. Each time we are more and more of who we really are.
Doesn't it make perfect sense then, that when we die to this world and resurrect to the next that we will be everything we are meant to be and that all of the experience, knowledge and living that we have done will continue on with us?
The question then becomes... What will be taking with us? Are we building up worldly treasures that we can't take on to the next place... like a big home, fancy cars, techhie gadgets, big bank accounts and preestigious postitions? Or are we building up Kingdom Treasures... like refining our gifts and talents and sharpening gifts of the Holy Spirit by using them in our daily lives, and learning and being and sharing and helping?
Your adult children may still have their favorite teddy bear or other physical treasures from childhood. But they are just for memory purposes. They have no real use for their life today. What they do use is all the love, knowledge, relationships and things of that nature that they gained throughout those years.
So let us begin to examine our Kingdom Treasures. Let's make sure we are ready for the next chapter of this life as well as the Next Chapter of life to come.
Our Father,
Thank you for the incredible teaching and story-telling talent of Pastor Mary and Pastor Sue. Help us to store up our Kingdom Treasures and to recognize them in our lives. Amen
Joys: a great weekend with some of the greatest women I know; new knowledge; simple children's stories that tell deep truths
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