Crown of Rejoicing :: Quietly Through Thursday Link-up #17

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 1 Thessalonians 2:19

I recently heard someone say (and I’m paraphrasing), “Don’t try to collect stuff here on Earth, God has a big pile of stuff waiting for you in heaven.”

The statement made me cringe. The person was referring to Matthew 6:19-20, the passage about laying up treasures for yourself in heaven. Maybe I miss understood the man. Or maybe he wasn’t making himself very clear. But I couldn’t disagree more with what I heard.

Stuff!

I don’t want more stuff!!!

I have plenty of stuff here on earth and it doesn’t make me happy. In fact, I often look at the piles of stuff throughout my house and get the overwhelming desire to throw it all in the garbage can.

I sure hope more stuff isn’t our final reward. Stuff is the last thing I’ll be looking for when I get to heaven.

Stuff is the last thing I’ll be looking for when I get to heaven. #quietlyreminded #quietlythroughthursday Click To Tweet

I’m not an expert in afterlife theology, but I’m pretty sure that it will be people, our relationships with those people, and having unbroken fellowship with Christ and His church that will make heaven so heavenly. These will make up the “crown of rejoicing”. Not stuff.

Paul makes it clear that he looks forward to being with the Thessalonians on the day he sees his Lord and Savior face-to-face. The Thessalonians’ salvation, their faith, and their hope are the treasures that Paul is laying up for himself in heaven.

People, not stuff, are his treasure!

People, everlasting souls rejoicing for eternity in the presence of their Savior, should be our treasure as well. Not stuff! Never stuff!

People.

People are treasures.

Their souls saved are worth rejoicing over.

People are treasures. Their souls saved are worth rejoicing over. #quietlyreminded #quietlythroughthursday Click To Tweet

Our loving relationships with these people and seeing them come to Christ should be what we treasure above all stuff, even the stuff that may or may not be in heaven.

Lord, help me to see the people in life as you see them: as real treasures. May I love them and rejoice in their salvation. I look forward to the day when I will have unbroken fellowship with you and fellow believers in your Son. Use me, Lord, to bring more treasures — more people — into your kingdom. For your glory. Amen.

This post was written while reading quietly through the Bible. If you are interested in a simple reading plan, check out this post. If you’ve written a post in response to your time in God’s Word I’d love to read it. Please share it in the Quietly Through Thursday link up.

Only by grace,

Kelli

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