“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”  - Jim Elliot

Here’s the crux of my point in what has developed into another series:  Jesus’ commands are only crazy if we are living for this world - that is, if our treasures are here rather than in heaven.  If you truly believe that this world is not our home, that our lives, security, comfort, and safety here are meaningless relative to eternity, then where do you invest your time, blood, sweat, tears, and yes - your money?  Do I invest for 20 or 30 years down the road, or do I invest in something that gives eternal returns on my investment?  If I really believe that God’s promises are true, investing anything I value in my own security or comfort on earth for a short and finite time rather than investing for eternity is not only wrong, it is stupid. (loosely plagiarized from David Platt).

The real question is, do we really believe His promises?  I think our thought process and our actions would be very different if we did.  If we really believed heaven is our home and this earth is just a momentary stepping stone on our journey there, His commands would make perfect sense.  My original assertion that His commands are “crazy” would be turned around.  I would say that living like the world lives, focused on our lives and security here - making choices the world would call “wise” and “prudent” with our time and money is actually shortsighted to the point of absolute stupidity.  This is where intellectual honesty comes in again.  If I really, REALLY believed, following His commands would be easy, a complete no-brainer.  That’s where obedience comes in.  Obeidence cannot save me, only grace can do that.  But a lack of obedience, a failure to see the logic in and obey His commands, indicates a much deeper root problem with my heart.