LIFE INVESTMENTS
Opening Prayer
God, may I view Your Word as the treasure it truly is today.
Read Matthew 6:16–24
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Are you devoted to short-term personal rewards or to an eternal relationship in heaven?Given our viewing options today, this reading is remarkably prescient. Jesus asks: What are you watching? Do you prefer soul-darkening options, or those that stir spiritual health? Do you live for outward appearances—like dramatic episodes of fasting—or do you find secret times for Bible reading?
What about your media options? Do you avoid Internet sites that feed destructive appetites? Or is it a secret addiction? And what if we were to have a major financial crisis, with runaway inflation, would your heart investments keep you secure? Jesus was raising these sorts of questions, not to badger his disciples but to invite real growth. He pitched the visible world against the invisible love of the Father.
As he did earlier in the sermon, Jesus held the eye to be, potentially, a major instrument of sin. Yet it only points to his ultimate opposition: the question of love. We either love God or the world. These are two very different investments!
Apply
Jesus poses an ultimate life-investment question here: “Whom do you love?” Have you answered him yet? Does your life match your profession? Choose to live out your love today.
Closing prayer
Jesus, I need You to be my one and only love. I give myself wholly to You today—all that I have and all that I am.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.