Tumbling down the sides....

     Unless you are a brand new Christian, you probably know Matthew 5 and 6, often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, pretty much by heart.  So it is often challenging to read it with a fresh eye. (No pun intended on Matthew 6:22.)  This morning, I was attempting to do so with the following verses:
     “Do not gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy...but gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” —Matthew 6:19-21
     And we all begin singing Kumbaya, I mean Seek Ye first....
     However, instead, God gave me a funny picture of myself running back and forth in and out of Heaven, adding treasures to my stash, with Him smiling at me and giving me a thumbs up.  Once again, He made me laugh out loud. I always have to check with Him on these humorous thoughts, to make sure it’s not just Julie’s bizarre imagination. But He just smiled at me with confirmation and the reminder that, after all, we had indeed been searching the Scriptures for what gives Him pleasure.
     Gifts of charity, thoughtfulness, and self-sacrifice, without the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing—not to mention other humans—provide the stash. They make Him happy, and He, who by nature can’t seem to receive without giving back in geometric proportions, stores up every single gesture of kindness on our part in a heap of His own gifts for us, which reach so high they start tumbling down the sides like a cup running over.
     We choose kindness, mercy, and charity, giving away both the tangible and the intangible, to make Him happy. But since He’s the originator of Paul’s phrase outdo one another in showing honor, He takes joy in secretly magnifying the treasure trove waiting for us.  Go ahead, give Him pleasure; take delight in helping others behind their backs. It will never be behind His.

PS: Remember, try not to get caught!
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Psalm 23:5
Romans 12:10