This is another one of those days that I’m glad I’m not paid for what I do.  Haven’t you heard from others, or maybe have felt yourself that church is just a way to get at your money?  The pursuit of money where it becomes an idol before God is a great temptation in the US.  There are temptations on every side of our lives.  Especially in the US, money is a great temptation.  The truth is, money can buy you happiness… at least for a while.  What money cannot buy you is peace and lasting happiness.  Why not?  Three main reasons, 1) We are going to die, therefore whatever money could buy would only give us joy for a while 2) Everything that can be bought is decaying already, just like our bodies will deteriorate over time  3)  The happiness found in money is never fulfilling, it only desires more, and in the end we find that sin in us has an insatiable appetite, never satisfied.

God has ordained that even the creation, everything in the Earth point us to God.  We see from creation that everything around us gets old and dies, therefore, if we are truly to find lasting, fulfilling joy, it must be beyond what the world can offer.

Romans 8:20-21 – “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God”

Jesus gives us instruction, which lays out a very simple point.   One will either pursue joy, in futility, by what the world can offer, or he/she will find that joy in the Lord.

Matthew 6:19-21,24 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…   No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

To a non-believer, obedience to God from His Word seems like the last place where joy would be found.  But for those who know God, and His infinite grace and mercy, the love of God is all we need.  My encouragement to you as fellow believers is to not look back to pursue joy in the world, but push forward into Christ where there is no lack.  Look to Christ and all that He is for us, and know that whatever joy you find today, will grow infinitely throughout eternity, when we finally see Him as He is.

Grace and Peace,

Adam