Your Unique, Eternal Treasure

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

In case you have forgotten, or in case you didn’t know it, the corruption of sin applies to everything, not just people. Paul wrote to the Roman Christ followers reminding them of that very thing. The creation is “subject to futility,” he said, and it needs to be “set free from its slavery to [that] corruption.” To cap it off, he personified creation and said that it “groans and suffers” while it is waiting for the freedom of the glory of the children of God [see Romans 8:20-22].

The practical application of that is, all the stuff you are collecting right now is corruptible and will eventually vanish. If it’s an investment, it can crash and burn. If it’s cash, a recession can wipe it out. If it’s a thing, it can get rusty or be stolen. Even if you are fortunate that none of that happens to you, you will be separated from it by death. As the old saying goes, “You never see a U-Haul following a hearse.”

That’s why Jesus taught that we should not “lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal" [Matthew 6:19-20].

The inheritance you have from God is not like earthly treasures. Peter said that your eternal inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, and unchangeable [1:4].

Imperishable means your inheritance is secure. It comes from a word that was used to describe a territory that had never been invaded, ravaged, or plundered by a foreign army. No intruder - not even Satan himself - can pick the lock and get in. 

Undefiled means that is not, nor ever will be, polluted by sin. 

Unchangeable suggests that it will never lose its beauty or luster. Peter used the same word to describe the unfading crown of glory that will be given to faithful elders [see 1 Peter 5:4].

What a unique treasure we have! It can’t be stolen. It remains in beauty. And sin can’t touch it. Think about it, this treasure is yours to enjoy throughout eternity. Don’t get sidetracked by the pursuit of perishable things. Enjoy your eternal treasure.

And we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, imperishable and undefiled, beyond the reach of change. 1 Peter 1:4