Who Won the Super Bowl? I have already forgot.

I started watching the HBO Max series “Hard Knocks” on the Seattle Seahawks. I quickly realized that I had forgotten that just a few months earlier the Seahawks had won the Super Bowl. I could not even remember who they played. A few months ago, millions watched the biggest sporting event in America. And I couldn’t even remember who played it. Something can feel enormously important today and surprisingly insignificant tomorrow. Thank you, Google search, for helping me recover that piece of trivia. How could I have forgotten the winner and the loser from the biggest annual event in America. It is estimated that 126 million people watch the game annually. It brings 20.2 billion dollars to the American economy according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Television sports news and normal news carries stories on the preparations and the teams preparing to play in the game. The game itself is about 8 hours of viewing from all the pregame, halftime and post-game. Yet as important and impactful as this event can be it has a shelf life. For some it will last until the next Super Bowl, for others it ended when the new season began but I must imagine most are like me and it had the shelf life of a glass of milk left on a counter on a warm day.

This got me thinking. What did Jesus say about things that last?

""Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

Jesus isn’t telling us that earthly things are necessarily bad. He’s reminding us that they don’t last. The problem comes when we invest our lives as though temporary things are the ultimate things.

If I want to know what heavenly treasures looks like, I should look at what Jesus gave himself to. Jesus treasured people, so much that He gave His life for all of humanity. He invested in the crowds, in the twelve and even more in the three. Jesus treasures forgiveness, humility, kindness, and truth. Jesus treasures the church, His bride.

What treasure will I invest my time, my finances and energy in? Am I investing in others? Am I encouraging someone who is struggling or discouraged? Am I discipling a younger believer? Do I forgive as Christ has forgiven me? Am I generous with my time and finances? Am I spending meaningful time with my family; my first responsibility in discipling? Am I praying for someone?

The question isn’t whether I’m investing my life. I am. The question is whether Im investing it in something that will matter when everything else is forgotten. Jesus invites us to join Him on mission to invest in the eternal.