Clothesline 243 "Facing Temptation"

Lent is a time of introspection, soul-searching. How is my relationship with Jesus these days? And we’ve had a lot to think about these past few weeks.

On Ash Wednesday we talked about how our behavior toward one another is so important and how prayer is our best defense to keep us on the right path. Next, we talked about the dangers of temptation, and how Jesus showed us to beware of Satan’s tricks, that he knows what buttons to push. Then we looked at our fears through the eyes of Abram who was old and childless, yet God told him that his ancestors would be as many as the stars in the sky. And this past week we looked at our worldliness…the “stuff” of life, those things that could keep us from our focus on Jesus.

It was an interesting subject to say the least. We all love our “stuff”, don’t we? We have special clothes, items we’ve collected over the years, heirlooms from our grandparents. I look around my own home and I see things that I’ve had for a half-century. Remember when wedding gifts used to be sterling silver bowls and candlesticks? They are beautiful, but how often do we use them? And what will happen to them when we’re gone? And does it matter?

My husband Joel often jokes about the Snap-On tool box with his name on it that’s waiting for him in the Maintenance Department in heaven, and I have often told my children if they ever dispose of my needlepoint creations that took me years to make, I’d come back and haunt them for the rest of their lives.

But, truth be told, no of it really matters in the end. The cross of Christ is a stark reminder to all of us that we can’t take our worldly possessions with us when we die, so we must cling to what matters. And what matters most is Jesus and the salvation he has won for us. His saving work on earth is what gives life its true meaning. Once we come to understand that concept, our approach to the things of this world changes.

In Matthew 6, Jesus says: “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.” May we truly recognize that the things of this world are blessings from God, but the real treasure is found in Jesus.