Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Treasure

Submitted by Lara Cook
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Luke 12:34

A Special Place
Right inside the front door of my house I have an antique washstand where every year at Christmas I set up my Nativity sets.  I have a big one that only has a few key pieces left, and then I have a couple of small ones.  Of course, this is also the place where we come in and drop our keys and everything else we have in our hands.  As I was leaving the house one morning, I noticed that the Baby Jesus in His manger and all of His adoring audience had been shoved in many different directions and the Nativity scene was in disarray.  I stopped and thought about how this seemed so disrespectful to Jesus and for this symbol of His coming, His gift, His life, to be shoved out of the way.  But Christmas was over.  When the season began and I first set the Nativity out, it was so special and added to the meaning and warmth of the season.  Maybe we are treating that Nativity just a little less special now that it’s a new year and time to put Christmas up and move on.  After all, the past month has been all about Jesus and His birth and it’s over now, right?
How often do we have that attitude about Jesus in our hearts?  Do we tend to shove Jesus to the side when He gets in the way?  When we get too busy?  What about when we get involved in something that is not honoring to Him? Do we clear Him off the table of our heart to make room for all our other “stuff”?  My challenge to myself and to you for this New Year is to keep Jesus in the special place He deserves in our heart, in our relationships, in our family, in our schools, and in our work.   Don’t let anything come into your life that would cause you to shove Him to the side.  He deserves to be the center of attention in our lives year round, not just in December. 

Scripture to Claim:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Matthew 6:33

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