Possession Obsession

My wife and I are just starting to build a new house.  They've dug the foundation and I find it so exciting to go to the site and imagine what the house will look like.  I've been aware that some part of me has been developing an unhealthy attitude about "owning" this great new house (even though I'm totally aware that the Lord is making it possible).  This morning, as I was walking around the new lot I was reflecting on the problem with possessions. 

 

A few ideas hit me: 

 

How can anything temporary (like my earthly life) think it can own something permanently?  I may be here a day, a decade or a few dog's ages but I'm almost certainly not going to last as long as this new house.  Do I really own anything material?  Of course, the answer is that it's not in the ownership.

 

How can anything permanent (like my eternal life) be satisfied with owning something temporary (like a house of wood and cement)?  Of course, the answer is that it's not in the ownership.

 

The answer...the satisfaction...the joy... has to come from how we'll use this house for the Lord.  It will be a place to adore Him, a place to share Him, a place where we hope to introduce others to Him, a place where we enjoy His presence and acknowledge His favor.

 

Finally, I see the purpose of possessions.  They are nothing more than tools to help us and help others draw near to the One who will love us forever.  I'm so glad that He possesses me (how about you)...

 

1 Corinthians 7: 29-31 I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out. [The Message version]

 

John 10:27-29  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

 

blessings,

 

Rob Smith