November 5

Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. — John 6:27 BSB

We constantly need to be reminded of how unsatisfying the things of this world truly are, and encouraged to seek things that will last. We live in a materialistic age, where many people chase after money, power, and earthly success.

John Bunyan painted a vivid picture of this in his story of a man with a muck-rake, working hard to scrape up rubbish from the dirt, completely unaware of the crown hanging above his head. This image represents the vast majority of people in the world. They exhaust themselves gathering worthless things from the ground, not realizing the heavenly treasures, the eternal and priceless gifts, they could have with half the effort.

We shouldn’t spend our lives accumulating things we can’t take with us when we die. If we’re wise, we’ll seek treasures that last forever, treasures we can carry into eternity.

The things we build into our character will stay with us forever.

Money we use to do good in Christ’s name becomes secure treasure stored in heaven.

All true service done for Christ earns us rewards for the future.

In the end, what we keep, we lose—but what we give in love, we keep forever.