. We ought not to spend our life
in picking up rubbish. . Do not work for food that perishes,
but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of
Man will give you. . We need to be continually reminded
of the unsatisfying nature of the things of this world, and
exhorted to seek eternal realities. We live in a material age, when
the quest of people is for money, for power, for things of the
earth. John Bunyan gives a picture of
a man with a muckrake, working hard, scraping up the rubbish
at his feet, and not seeing the crown which hung above his head.
It is a picture of the great majority of the people in this
world. They are wearing out their life
in scraping up worldly rubbish. not thinking of the heavenly
treasures, the divine and imperishable gifts which they might have,
with half the toil and care. We ought not to spend our life
in picking up rubbish which we cannot carry beyond the grave. If we are wise, we will seek
rather to gather lasting treasures and riches which we can take
with us into eternity. Whatever we build into our character,
we shall possess forever. Money which we spend in doing
good in Christ's name, we lay up as safe and secure treasure
in heaven. All true service for Christ stores
up rewards for us in the future. What we keep, we lose. What we give in love, we keep
forever.