The more time I spend with Jesus in Scripture, the more convicted I am by the juxtaposition He presents between the things of Heaven and the things of Earth. Jesus came from Heaven, which is eternal, and He lived on Earth, which is temporary. While He was here, He constantly taught people to force their eyes off of the horizontal stuff of this earth, and to focus instead on the things of Heaven. But it was always a hard sale, because the things of earth are all that the people of earth know. It’s so hard to convince people to value things they haven’t seen above things they have.
Store up your treasures in Heaven.
Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven.
Stop the cycle of thirst associated with temporary water. Try living water.
Stop the cycle of hunger associated with bread. Try the Bread Of Life.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give to God what is God’s.
Jesus is describing an alternate reality – something that we can’t yet see with our physical eyes, but He promises that it is there. And we all sense it, anyway. The hungers and desires that we have on this earth point to something deeper than this earth can provide. We are programmed for more – for satisfaction that can only come in Him.
So what does this mean for today? Even as we live on this earth, we need to keep our hope fixed on something greater. We are here for a short time, but eternity will be there, in Heaven, with Him. That realization will keep me from over-valuing the things that happen today; from over-reacting to the bad; from over-reaching for the good. Instead, I navigate today with the understanding that my ultimate hope and satisfaction is not found on this earth. I’m just passing through.