Further Instructions from the Mount - Pt 1

 

[Jesus said] “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.” (Matthew 6:19–21 ESV).

 

As Jesus continues with His teaching from the Mount, He instructs his followers to prioritize eternal, spiritual wealth over temporary material possessions. He teaches that earthly treasures are temporary and vulnerable, whereas heavenly treasures are secure. Ultimately, He explains that a person's devotion naturally follows what they value most.

 

The picture I’ve attached today is of the interment of Aurora Schuck. When she passed away from cancer in 1989, she was laid to rest inside her beloved red 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. The burial required 14 adjoining plots and a massive custom concrete vault. You can visit this gravesite at Riverview Cemetery in Aurora, Indiana. It seems her husband, Raymond, purchased 14 burial plots to accommodate the size of the car and vault. A custom concrete vault measuring 27 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 6 feet deep was constructed. A crane was used to gently lower the polished, drained Cadillac—with its top down and Aurora belted into the back seat—into the ground. Thirteen years later, when Raymond passed away in 2002, his cremated remains were piped down into the same vault so he could be reunited with Aurora and her cherished car for eternity.

 

Well, that may be a bit excessive, or at least eccentric. However, we should not get confused. Jesus isn’t condemning earning an income. He’s not ruling out earthly possessions. He’s not outlawing all saving. Or any enjoyment of His gifts. He’s telling us not to get our hearts wrapped around them. And make them our primary investment in this life.

 

He’s ruling out the selfish accumulation of stuff. An overly extravagant lifestyle. He’s telling us not to get too comfortable here on earth. To put our hope in the things of this age. Those things won’t last. They wear out. They break down. They decay. Or they get stolen. Back in Christ’s day, people lived with far more awareness of how transient everything was. Life was far more volatile, much more dangerous.

 

We don’t feel it quite as much today. We fool ourselves. We tend to think possessions and wealth will guarantee us a future. We can fight off thoughts of death for a time, but one day, a hearse will drive our bodies away. And, as they say, there won’t be a U-Haul behind… maybe a Cadillac, but not a U-Haul! Take care to treasure heavenly things!