Locate Your Heart

I bought a new laptop and was faced with a decision, did I want to subscribe to "Lojack for Laptops?"  It got me thinking about how we locate stuff.  Cars, kids, etc. all have options and gadgets available that let us keep track of where they are so we can recover them if they are lost and stolen.  What a great idea; wish I'd have thought of it, but I digress.

Locating people is something that I have found fairly easy to do.  Spiritually, emotionally, and even financially, people have "tells," those little give-aways that let you know where they are on the map.  Jesus pointed out one of these in the Gospels.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  (Matthew 6:21 NKJV)

If you want to know what someone values, look at what it is they give their money to.  I have been chastised many times for not investing my money in things that will guarantee me a cushy retirement.  What they don't understand is that a cushy retirement is of little value to me.  I love being active and involved in the things that make life worth living.  My heart is not in being able to kick back and relax in an empty existence.  My treasure is going to things like the encouragement of those who serve the Body of Christ around the world.

I remember Zig Ziglar saying, "You are going to spend a lot more time dead than you are alive; make your plans accordingly."  In other words, invest yourself in eternal things.

Where are you invested today?

In case you haven't noticed, once you pass from this globe your memory will be short-lived.  No matter the legacy you leave here may get you a statue, a bridge, a building, or a street as a memorial, but your memory will surely fade into the past and disappear within a generation.  But you can invest in something that will give you a return of eternal consequence.

You can invest in things of eternal value, things that God values.  You can invest yourself in people, the only thing God really cares about.  Be it through your local church, through a missions program, or by way of a special ministry project, you can be one who changes the course of history for someone else.  Giving needy children a shot a a normal life and an intorduction to the love of Christ, bringing health and healing to those who are hurting while giving them a chance to choose eternal life as well, or supporting those who are getting the Good News to those who have not yet heard, the choice is yours.

Where is your heart?  Where are you putting your money?  What are you spending your time on?  Join me in making our lives a force for the Kingdom of God.