The world and its desires pass away . . . (1 John 2:17)
A few years ago I faced a very busy Fall. I looked over what I could take off my plate and decided to hire the leaves removed from my yard. I found someone who would do it for a reasonable price and one night when I got home the leaves had disappeared. I drove into my garage with a smile.
My kids, however, weren’t smiling. The three oldest ones confronted me at the door. Through tears they lamented, “How could you? How could you destroy our leaf forts?” I hadn’t realized it, but they had gone to great efforts to make forts out of the leaves. The whole cul de sac had plans for their leaf forts well into the spring.
I tried to reason with them. Did you really think the leaves would last? How solid do you think of leaf fort could be.” But, they were having none of it. They know that their position is stronger with me if they make biblical connections, so one of them said, “We just feel like you have walked all over our creation.”
Aren’t kids silly? Don’t they know that oak leaves don’t last? The ones that we don’t rake into piles rattle away in the frozen winter. By June, we don’t remember last year’s leave. How long can anyone plan to keep dead leaves around?
Aren’t kids silly and don’t we do the same thing? Our leaf forts just cost more. We pile up our things and convince ourselves that our possessions will survive the winter. John reminds us
17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17 (NIV))
Soon it will be winter. Our leaves will be gone. Now is the time to store up treasure in Heaven, where our treasure will never be raked into piles and burned.
*This post is repeated.
