Friends

We are really down to the wire, and it seems like life is just ramping up!  If you come to our home now, you will notice that all of our furniture, except for our beds, are gone.  No more dining table, breakfast table. Our couches are gone … even the ones that our SG  loved so much!  Bookshelves, books are gone … everything.  Sold my guitars, guitar stands, garden tools, some of our camping gear, kitchen stuff, clothing, you name it.  And yesterday, a bit on the emotional side of things, our piano left.  It was picked up by a local piano moving company  and headed toward a music studio.  This was by far the most difficult to let go.

In our home, we have been doing our best to teach our boys to be thankful.  I would think, that most of us understand what it means to be thankful; however, it’s the practicality of living it out that is usually most difficult.  In our North American culture, we seemingly desire or want to accumulate.  We buy a house to fill it with stuff.  We buy more because our neighbours have more than us.  We move to a bigger home, just to get a pool.  Then we forget that we need more things to accommodate the pool.  It’s always one thing after another.

We do appreciate the minimalist movement.  Less is more.  I also think and would say that it’s Biblical.  Scripture tells us “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  This is pretty clear – seek first … seek what?  The kingdom of God.  It doesn’t say seek a bigger property, seek a better job, seek more wealth, nor does it say seek more material possessions.  So why do we constantly try to keep up with one another?  This isn’t even a Christian thing.  It’s a human condition.  We are not content with what we have.  I would say, we are not thankful.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous … then what?  and all these things will be added to you.  Are you seeking God first?  Is He first in your life?  Do you pursue Christ like you pursue a career change?  Are you just as passionate about Missions like you are about getting a John Deer, pool, new car?

Scripture also tells us that “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  What do you treasure?  Are you storing up your treasures here on earth?

Thankfulness is heart issue.

And so, in our home, as we continue to prepare to leave for Hong Kong and our boys see our couches leaving, piano gone, beds soon to be given away … our prayer is that our boys will come to an understanding that we need to be thankful for what we have.  None of this belongs to us.  It belongs to God.  He is the one who has entrusted to us our possessions.  It’s on loan.  When it’s gone, we should never complain.  Be thankful that the Lord has allowed you to have what you have.  At the end of the day, you can’t take it to the grave anyway.

So what?  Our proper response is to give thanks.  Give thanks with a grateful heart – lyrics from the old Sunday School song.  Ultimately, give thanks that God gave us His Son, to take our place on the cross.  He died so that we might have life.  He died because of His love for us.  Would we strive to live a life, worthy of our calling – which is to make disciples.

Maybe it’s time for you, your family to re-evaluate what your priorities are.

What do you seek first?

You are loved.