Our Hope In Heaven, Right Now.

Slip there while still here- this then is the key.

You have a treasure house filled with your most precious items, how often do you think of that treasure house? 

You have a home that you treasure, a family you treasure, how often do you think of that home and your family?

You have an occupation you treasure, how often is that occupation on your mind?

There are entertainments you treasure- television, movies, video games, how often do you think of these entertainments?

You have friends you treasure- how often are they in your thoughts?

You have a hobby you work/play with that you treasure, how often do you think of that hobby?

Our lives often develop routines and the routines vary according to our lives and what we make priorities. We may spend all day at work yet during that time our thoughts may constantly jump forward to a time when we can -- insert your treasured pastime here.  You want to get home, put your feet up, turn on the television, or watch a podcast, stream a show. You may have to fix dinner and tend to children before you can get to your 'me time' your relaxation.  

The majority of people who value having a good work ethic will choose to forego pleasure in order to provide for their everyday needs and even their treasures. This doesn't stop them from thinking about the treasures. We don't completely shut off our minds from being drawn towards the things we look forward to - even at our busiest- when a single free moment arrives for our thoughts to turn away from the tasks at hand. If our jobs are very difficult we may be constantly reminding ourselves of the reasons we endure the difficulties - for the things we treasure whether they are people, pastimes, or something else.  

We live our lives in this manner of consistently allowing our minds to go towards better things or even just the hope of better things and when we have the better things we allow ourselves to enjoy them, cherishing the time we're allowed to have with our treasure. 

There are a lot of mundane moments in our lives as we endure perhaps health problems, age issues, a circumstantial forced sort of existence, and in that mundaneness we find only glimpses of treasured moments. Even then our seemingly boring, mundane lives can become things we treasure for what they are.

The point here? The point is that NO matter what kind of life we lead- from one of non-stop thrill seeking, to safe, secure routines we have things in our lives we hold dear- even to the point of not liking our routines interrupted, we treasure that routine every bit as much as the seeker of the unexpected non-routine life enjoys theirs.  

When we are told to put our treasures in heaven we are being told to put what we will old dear in heaven. We are told to find our desire in heaven. We are being instructed to train our go-to thoughts on Christ, not on our next moment of downtime. Christ is what we need to look forward to, Christ should be the thrill we are seeking or the safe routine we enjoy.  

How can this be? How can we put our treasures in heaven if they are completely earthly? Perhaps if our earthly treasures occupy us so much they shouldn't be our treasures. We should be will to sacrifice any earthly treasure, shouldn't we?  

Slipping there while still here- this then is the key.

We are still here and not in heaven. Heaven to us is a place of future existence, and it's hard for us to put our treasure in the future when we want so much to live with treasure upon earth right now.

In all we do we need to be able to slip into heaven thoughts. We are bound to this earth for as long as God deems it so, or until Christ returns. We are bound to live in this body of sinful flesh we can't escape it physically- it's impossible. How we live in this body we can determine in our thoughts if not in any other ways.

Heaven needs to be real to us right now. As real as our Savior is, must heaven be to us. We need to slip there even while we are still here. 

Having Christ in us, our hope, is us recognizing heaven- for Christ is in heaven right now. He is in us and if He can be in us, we can be with Him in heaven right now.  We must be heaven bound right now not as an afterthought to life. 

Slipping there - allowing our minds to be drawn heavenward to the Hope only found there - that is putting our treasure in heaven. We may live here, but our minds can live elsewhere. That question- "What are you thinking about you look like you're miles away?" - refers to coming upon someone who looks lost in their thoughts, contemplative.  The response to that question might just well be that the person was miles away in thought- thinking of something other than their current situation.  We need to be constantly miles away in thought, spiritual miles all the way to heaven. As we work, play, exist we must allow for the utmost priority in our lives to be heaven- Christ. Being there, while we are here, is holding fast to the promise given to all of mankind after the fall, that we would someday regain our home with the God of heaven. We are believing in this truth right now as we live, our treasures truly in heaven. 

Mat_6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Mar_10:21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

No, distraction by things.

Luk_12:33  Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

No, distractions to heaven's reality now.

God help us truly have our heaven treasure right now, our hearts in heaven with our Savior!