Trashpiles

 "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Anne Graham Lotz tells of an illustration she remembers in John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress." In the picture, a man is sorting through trash, looking for bits of tinsel to salvage. As he does so, an angel of the Lord stands behind him, holding and offering him a golden crown. He has no notice of the angel, so intent is he upon his pile of garbage. Of this Lotz says, "We cling so tight to what we want that we lose what He wants us to have." In the end, there may be no greater tragedy to account for when we stand before Him. Throughout our lives, He held out to us the greatest, most priceless treasure to be had, Jesus Christ, but we were too enamored of our trashpile to notice or desire Him.

Such an end will be tragic for all those who finally reject Him, but what of we who say we've not done that at all? We who rest so comfortably in our "decision" to receive Him as Savior? Where in our lives are we sorting through garbage dumps, seeking what we think is treasure, and all the while missing He who is our true treasure? Where in our lives, professions, ministries and relationships are we seeking to make the "right connections" for our own supposed well being, and completely missing our connection with Him? Where are we oblivious to Him and His gifts because we have been so focused on our worthless tinsel? Where are we clinging so tightly to our own desires, dreams, goals, and hopes, that we have no knowledge of or desire for what we are losing, indeed have already lost, what He desires for us?

Why does the tinsel of this world continue to captivate us so, even after we claim to have given ourselves to Him? Can we dare to admit it's because there is much of our lives that we haven't given to Him at all, and in those places, we desire other things far more than we desire Him? We're so blinded in our desires that we don't recognize what the apostle Paul called "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ." We feel that we do love Jesus, but we don't want to admit that there are so many other things that we love more. Paul had a passion and hunger for Christ. A passion to know Him, live in Him, be immersed in Him. What's our passion? Is it really Christ? We cling to that which is only trash in comparison. We're captivated by our tinsel.

As a boy, a post Christmas happening that all of us looked forward to was all those in the surrounding neighborhoods bringing their now dried out and mostly bare Christmas trees to a kind of all purpose "dump." There they were gathered into a huge pile, where the local volunteer fire department stood ready to set them afire. It was a huge bonfire, exciting to watch. One of the things I most remember about it was all the trees that still had tinsel clinging to them. Only a short while before they'd been beautiful centerpieces in our living rooms, with treasures piled at the foot of them. They, along with their tinsel, were burnt up. What we felt so beautiful was now just ashes. So it is with all those things we treasure so much more than Him. They are tinsel, bound to be burnt up, despite their present beauty. Not so Jesus Christ. Our Christmas tinsel couldn't last, nor could the bright fire that consumed it, but He who is the Light of the world can never fade or be extinguished.

So we have a choice; we can continue to worship at our trashpiles, or, we can give our hearts and adoration to the only One who is truly worthy of it; Jesus Christ. In the end, who holds our heart? A pile of trash, or the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?

Blessings,

Pastor O