A Test Of Love
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:21
The third type of test God uses to spiritually develop us is a test of love. It’s easy to rely on earthly possessions to make us feel successful or important. However, those earthly possessions are not what give us worth. Our worth can only be found in Jesus. There are times that God needs to remove those earthly things so that we can realize where our heart lives—in earthly treasures or in Jesus.
Matthew tells the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. After the young man told Jesus that he has kept all the commandments, Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Matthew 19: 21). The man grieved because he had many possessions.
There is a myriad of things that we can place before God—people, work, hobbies, money, sleep, anything that we prioritize above spending time with God and doing what He calls us to do.
In these instances, God must remove those things in order for us to shift our perspective from the carnal to the spiritual. It may appear as though you are losing everything, but you are in an even greater position to recognize where your blessings actually lie.
Where is your heart at? What and whom do you invest your time in? If God is not at the top of the priority list, it is time to re-arrange things in your life. Make God a priority and everything else will fall into place.
The third type of test God uses to spiritually develop us is a test of love. It’s easy to rely on earthly possessions to make us feel successful or important. However, those earthly possessions are not what give us worth. Our worth can only be found in Jesus. There are times that God needs to remove those earthly things so that we can realize where our heart lives—in earthly treasures or in Jesus.
Matthew tells the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. After the young man told Jesus that he has kept all the commandments, Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Matthew 19: 21). The man grieved because he had many possessions.
There is a myriad of things that we can place before God—people, work, hobbies, money, sleep, anything that we prioritize above spending time with God and doing what He calls us to do.
In these instances, God must remove those things in order for us to shift our perspective from the carnal to the spiritual. It may appear as though you are losing everything, but you are in an even greater position to recognize where your blessings actually lie.
Where is your heart at? What and whom do you invest your time in? If God is not at the top of the priority list, it is time to re-arrange things in your life. Make God a priority and everything else will fall into place.
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