LAYING UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN.
By G. D. Ballou
Matt. 6:19–21. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” CONSIDERATION of this text divides the world into two classes. On the one hand are those who are building their hopes and aspirations here, depending for succor and comfort on the perishing things of time, trusting in money, friends, or social position to bring them the highest good which they desire; and being ignorant of the blessed promises of God’s word, they seldom or never think of looking or laboring for anything better than this world affords. Such will reap only a harvest of earthly treasures. The things which perish with the use are all they have ever lived for or enjoyed; and having lived for the incorruptible treasure, perish with the things they have used. The other hand are those who have placed a just estimate on the things of this world, because they have seen with the eye of faith the eternal things. The kingdom of God with its enduring riches has been before their minds, and the contrast has been so great between the perishable and the imperishable that it has become comparatively easy for them to cease hoarding earthly treasure, and to inquire how to transfer the results of their efforts here to the kingdom of God. An illustration may help us somewhat. Suppose you were about to take a journey to Switzerland and wished to carry with you a thousand dollars. You would not think of carrying the money with you lest you might lose it on the way; but, going to the Bank of Exchange in New York, you would purchase a bill of Exchange on Paris, and on your arrival you would be able to draw, not the money you had deposited in New York, but its full value in the currency you desire to use. Now I believe that we can make just as real a transfer of our treasures from this world to the kingdom of God as was made in the illustration we have used. God gives us all we have,—life, time, physical strength, mental ability, and social influence to some degree. It is our privilege to convert these into the perishable riches of this world or into imperishable treasure in the kingdom of God. We can labor with our strength and thought simply for money and worldly goods, and take fleeting pleasure in the possession of these things, or we can plan, and study, and labor, to convert our perishing fellow-men, and help them to develop characters that will stand the test of the Judgment; and when the Lord comes they will be made immortal and taken to the kingdom of God, and will there be our joy and crown of rejoicing throughout eternal ages. 1 Thess. 2:19. If we are thus earnestly engaged in using our God-given powers and abilities in such a way as to develop righteous characters, and these characters are taken to the kingdom, are we not laying up treasure there? Those converted to Jesus are our dearest treasure here if we are Christians, and they will be a precious treasure to us in the kingdom of God. God calls them his jewels or special treasure (Mal. 3:17, margin), and if the saved are a treasure to the Lord they can but be a treasure to one another; for his Spirit will reign in every heart. Those who have been converting their powers and energies into money and worldly wealth, now have time and opportunity for exchanging their perishing treasures for the eternal riches. Let them use their wealth to aid in the work of saving souls from ruin. How much better to find our treasure on the other side of the grave and be privileged to enjoy it eternally, than to perish with it here! Who will have treasure over there but he who has laid it up in advance? and who could enjoy that glorious future without some treasure there? Will not those who have used their talents aright enter into the joy of their Lord? And in what will that joy consist but in seeing souls saved for whom He died? “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.” Isa. 53:11. None can share the joy of Christ but those who like him have labored and suffered and sacrificed for the eternal as well as for the temporal good of others. Those who thus labor will have their affections set on things of the kingdom. There they expect to find their treasure, and the things of this world appear of small consequence to them only as they are transferred to the kingdom of God. When the thought of transferring our treasures to the future world takes possession of the mind, then and only then do we see their real value. Then they appear valuable, not because of real intrinsic merit, but because God has made it possible for them to be transferred and made available for us in the future. With this thought before us, what diligence and earnestness ought to characterize every act of our lives. If time is wasted, we suffer loss in the kingdom. If strength is misused or mental power abused, no benefits will accrue to us on this account, and if money is squandered we shall find a debit instead of a credit in the books of heaven. And not we alone, but others whom we might have blessed here and eternally profited hereafter, will suffer loss on account of our sinful negligence. “Wherefore I say unto you, make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it shall fail they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Luke 16:9–11. (See new version.)