So. It’s been eleven days since I returned home from training camp, and I’ve had some time to process things, and there’s one thing that stands out.
It’s amazing how fast I was able to settle back into a “normal” routine. Wake up in my soft, comfy bed in a cool, climate-controlled house. Scroll through social media on my phone. Take a nice, hot shower. Walk out to the kitchen and pour a bowl of overly sugary cereal. Eat overly sugary cereal on the comfy couch, while watching some humorous, but ultimately pointless TV show.
Pointless.
That’s been a fear of mine for some time now. That one day, I’ll look back at my life and see just that. Pointlessness. What have I done with my life? And did it matter?
As I ponder these questions that I may be asking in my future, I’m whisked back to a memory from my past. I’m reminded of my 4th grade Sunday school class, and one of the first verses I can remember memorizing, and that I can, in fact, still say from memory.
Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I have to admit, in 4th grade, I didn’t really understand what Jesus was saying there, and I was probably just memorizing the verses for the prize I would get if I recited it in front of the class. But in light of what I experienced, even in just ten days, at Training Camp, as well as what I’m preparing to experience on the World Race, these verses have recently become very applicable.
Now let’s be clear. I spent ten days living out of a backpack. That’s not revolutionary. Some people do that for fun. But what that time showed me is just how attached we are to our things. There were definitely times when I wished I could sleep in a bed, instead of my inflatable sleeping pad on the ground. There were times when I wished I could take a nice hot shower, rather than using a bucket to dump cold water on my head and down my back. And who wouldn’t rather have AC available, rather than being in the heat with what feels like gallons of sweat drenching your clothes?
Then I got home. And I returned to a cool house, hot showers, and a comfy bed. And as much as I did enjoy these things, it also felt strangely empty.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
Which brings me back to my fear of my life being pointless. I realized something. At the end of my life, I’m not going to look back and wish I’d eaten more sugary cereal. I’m not going to wish I had spent more time on social media. I’m not going to wish I’d spent more time on my couch watching funny TV shows. Those things all feel good in the moment, but they add no real value to my life. They’re fillers. They’re earthly treasures that will quickly fade into nothingness. And they distract me from doing things that actually matter.
When I look back on my life, I’m going to wish I’d made more people smile. I’m going to wish I’d made people’s lives better. I’m going to wish that I’d demonstrated God’s love to more people. I’m going to wish I’d helped more people to come to know Jesus. I’m going to wish that I’d done things that actually made a difference. I’m going to wish I had stored up more treasure in heaven.
So really, it’s with excitement that I leave behind the distractions and the fillers. I look at the men of faith in the Bible. Paul was imprisoned, shipwrecked, and beheaded. Peter was crucified. John went on the ultimate backpacking trip, in that he was exiled away from everything and everyone he cared about. These were not people who lived in comfort. So yes, in going on the World Race, I’m sacrificing some temporary comforts. But I’m also storing up permanent treasures in heaven. And where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. And that’s exciting.
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” –Jim Elliot.
