So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up Treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. —Luke 12:32-34
As explained in more detail in chapter ten of Lead by Grace, the book of John was written for not-so-prestigious Believers, while the book of Matthew was written for prestigious Believers, and the book of Mark was written for not-so-prestigious unbelievers, while the book of Luke was written for prestigious unbelievers. Speaking to unbelievers who were already financially and socially prestigious, Luke often spoke to his audience in the gospel of Luke, letting them know that money was not the end all-be all of life: One could have money and still not be fulfilled if the person did not possess the proper attitude towards it. On the contrary, a person with wealth could also overflow with fulfillment in life whenever they were willing to heed to some of Jesus’ advice.
A version of our reference scripture above is also found at the ending of Matthew 6, quoted by Matthew. However, since the book of Matthew was speaking to prestigious Jews, Matthew emphasized in his interpretation of Jesus’ words that the Jews should not try serving both God and money. Soon, they would begin loving one more than the other. Luke, however, took a different approach to his interpretation of Jesus’ words. He was speaking to prestigious unbelievers. So, Luke took the route of emphasizing that when one sells their possessions and gives to those in need, this will store up treasure for them in heaven (fulfillment). He then says that “the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.” He says this to say that while a person can have their material belongings threatened or seized at any time, storing up heavenly wealth keeps one in a state of fulfillment, regardless of the state of their outward circumstances.
There is a song I used to love with lyrics that say, “This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me. The world didn’t give it; the world can’t take it away.” This is referring to “heavenly wealth.” In the Bible, the book of Luke often uses terms such as “the Kingdom” or “riches/treasures of heaven” as ways of referring to a state of spiritual, emotional, and mental wellness. For example, Luke 16:11 also says, “if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” The comparison here is that there is a difference between worldly wealth (money) and spiritual wealth (fulfillment) and one’s maturity towards the former directly affects their ability to access the latter.
In our reference scripture, Luke quotes Jesus as saying, “wherever your treasure is, there the desire of your heart will be also.” This is very similar to the message of Psalm 37:3-4, which says, “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” The correlation of these verses explains that we are able to access the desires of our hearts when delighting in the Lord becomes our focal point. Living a purpose driven life often calls for us to favor God’s cause by using what we are blessed with to leave people (and the world) better than we found them. Whenever this becomes our focus, we store up heavenly riches and fulfillment for ourselves that cannot be taken away. Our motives often affect our state of being and even our motivation to gain and do more. Wherever our treasures are, the desires of our hearts will be there also. May we be thoughtful towards treasuring things that are ultimately most meaningful to our overall well-being.
Lots of Love, XO
