My word speaks of treasure in heaven. It also speaks of gold and silver and precious stones. Do you think these are the same thing? Yet I told my disciples not to seek the things that the gentiles seek but rather to seek those things which are above, the Kingdom of God. The gentiles certainly do seek after gold and silver and gemstones. Your treasure in heaven is better than these things, for which gold and silver are symbolic. Anything material you can lose or have stolen, but your treasure in heaven is secure from any type of loss. You need to take on a new set of values to appreciate what is truly valuable. 

If someone gives you an unexpected gift do you express your gratitude for it? If they continue to show the same generosity on a regular basis do you continue to be as expressive of your thanks as you were for the first gift? Most people are not. Have you heard of compassion fatigue? You may not have heard of gratitude fatigue, but the concept is just as real. The easy route that most people take is to take for granted those things that come routinely. Who is as grateful for the expected blessing as for the unexpected blessing? I want you to cultivate a heart of expressed gratitude for everything you receive whether you expect it or not. 

I had relatively few followers when I was on earth even though my people knew that a Messiah was coming. They had particular expectations and I didn’t fit the profile. I wasn’t religious enough for the religious establishment. Some followed because of the miracles and they liked the loaves and fishes for lunch. Yet many of my followers fell away because of the shocking things I said. Even those closest to me struggled a great deal with the same statements, but they remained because I had the words of life. When you read the Bible do you do so with the same sense of shock and awe? You should, and find transformative meaning in my words of life. 

Mark, the language you Christians use separates you from others.

You mean from people who aren’t Christians?

No. I mean your special religious Christian language separates you from humans in general. It doesn’t matter whether they’re Christians or not.

How do you mean God?

I mean you Christians have invented a special way of speaking that separates you from others.

What sort of other people God? This is getting frustrating!