Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth....Matt 6.19
On the road to Billings Tunnel outside Salida Colorado, there is ghost town. This is a picture of the 1880's general store that was in the center of a bussling, thriving mining community. It was new, flashy (by 1880s' standards because everyone else lived in tents) and even had two cellars to store goods (now just large holes in the ground). Now it is 14 logs stacked on top of each other and a few sheets of tin scattered around. That's it. In fact, of all the remains of 23 cabins and businesses, this is the one in the best condition.
It's hard to believe that very little will remain of our "empires" 100 years after we are gone. A few sticks or rocks on top of each other and that's it. That's all. Kind of sad, isn't it? But if we invest in the spiritual kingdom, if we spread the gospel by living right and loving others, that investment never dies. It continues to grow, build and thrive in the hearts of others, passing in on and on and on.
Most of the churches, businesses and homes that exist now, will not even be a memory in 100 years....but the Word of the Lord keeps going and going and going. Invest in loving people, talking up Jesus and serving the Lord and watch that investment grow for centuries to come.
These are similar to my thoughts when I find an old cabin in the mountains. You know when it was new the people who built it were proud of their accomplishment and the relative comfort it would provide. Now it is just a pile os sticks.
ReplyDeleteIt is humbling how temporary the things are on which we place so much importance.
Unless our treasure is in heaven it doesn't amount to much.
I sat in this "cabin" and walked around for a couple of hours...it is very sobering. Like you, I was humbled at the how temporary my life, my works and accomplishments are. I tried to imagine the activity and life that was going on, the trains, horses, tents, miners and gold coming out of the mountains...and now, nothing.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know if you are investing in the spiritual realm? Am I investing in the survival of a denomination or in God's work on earth? One survives and the other falls apart like the cabin in this picture.
Amen--and there is nothing like seeing the powerful grace of God at work--Amazing.
ReplyDeleteVery true Nannykim, very true.
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