Store Up Your Treasure by Giving It Away
By Rick Warren
"Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven—it is the only safe investment for eternity!" 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (TLB)
Your generous giving is a premise to one of God’s generous promises. He promises that when you give, you’re not really losing anything. God is actually storing it up in heaven.
"Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven—it is the only safe investment for eternity!" (1 Timothy 6:18-19 TLB)
You can know that God has a bank account for you in heaven because Jesus mentioned it five times— and if God mentions something five times, he must really want you to get the message. Jesus uses the repeated command to store up treasure in heaven because he wants you to understand that it’s the most important thing you can do with your treasures here on earth.
So when you give to God or you give to somebody in need, you’re not losing anything. Your treasure is actually growing! Only in the kingdom of God are you storing something up by giving it away.
It’s important to plan for your future. But even more importantly, you need to start thinking about your eternal bank account in heaven—because that one's going to last forever!
How do you fund that eternal investment? How do you store up treasure in heaven? Jesus says, "Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home" (Luke 16:9 NLT).
Any money that you give in the cause of Christ, you're actually investing in eternity. If you invest in other people so that they have a relationship with Jesus, then one day you’re going to get to heaven, and you’re going to hear, "Thank you! I'm here because of you. I'm your friend for eternity!"
You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. Store up your reward in heaven by being generous with everything you’ve got so that others can hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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