“Hope for Eternity”
Matthew 6:19-21

I don’t know about you, since I have been working from home I have been experiencing time in a different way. There have been days that have gone slowly and days that have sped through quickly. The passing of time seems relative to what is going on around you.

10 minutes is a really short time to wait for a ride at Disneyland.
10 minutes is an acceptable time to wait in the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts.
10 minutes is an eternity to wait for the bathroom.

I have been reading through “The Easter Challenge” devotional and one of the readings was on the Hope for Eternity, the very essence of Easter. If you are like me, during this time of social distancing, the idea of eternity has been a part of my daily thinking process as I hear the number of deaths from COVID-19 rising every day. 
The struggle with this virus is the unknown. 
It makes you realize we really don’t have control. 

Actually, 
we have been given an opportunity to stop and take inventory of our life. 

The celebration of Easter last week reminds us of the hope which exists for us Christians. 

Paul wrote in Romans 6:5, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” 

For those of us who have put our trust in Jesus, and the gift of eternal life, we believe that no matter how much time we spend on earth, it will be but a drop in the bucket compared to the time we will spend in heaven. 
Heaven is eternity. A difficult concept to wrap our mind around, but nonetheless a concept that Jesus challenged us to spend time on considering. 

Matthew 6: 19-20 Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

COVID-19 can have us living in fear, 
or it can remind us to follow what Jesus said, 
when He told us to live in the light of the Resurrection. This pandemic demonstrates that our achievements, positions, and possessions will fade away. 

This week let’s focus on stockpiling treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and viruses. Here are three suggestions:
Invest in your own heart and character
Invest in other people
Invest in the glory of God
Take those 10 minutes I was talking about earlier and invest them in your own heart and character – by reading God’s Word and meditating on it, and putting His Word to memory.

Take those 10 minutes I was talking about earlier and invest them in other people – Pray for those people that are on your heart, call someone and encourage them with a 10 minute phone call, write a letter of encouragement to someone.

Take those 10 minutes I was talking about earlier and invest them in the Glory of God, sing a song of praise, give God the glory of what He has given you through a prayer of thanksgiving. 

10 minutes can make a big difference in your life and others lives, if we spend it well. Let’s spend it this week storing up treasure in heaven. 

Let’s pray.