I was chatting with the copier repair tech in my church office when a loud knocking sounded on the door frame and a tall, elderly stranger stepped into view.  Usually when non-members stop in at church, they either want to sell me something, or they want me to give them something. 

But not this gentleman.  He wanted to give me something.

Turns out he was working through the personal effects of a deceased relative who had been a Lutheran pastor, and there were several containers containing some of his pastoral books. The relative wasn’t comfortable with simply throwing them away and asked if we might be able to make use of them or find good homes for them.   I said, “Sure!” and thanked him for the generous offer. 

It took me a few weeks before I could tackle the containers, but I finally dove into them.  Inside were Bibles, hymnals, worship service planning and reference books, and theological books.  There were also some lovely Christian knick-knacks that now reside on my church office shelves.

Most striking though were the well-used Bibles and hymnals carrying the personal inscriptions of the names of the pastor and his wife on the front covers.  Also found in the containers were documents of some of his pastoral installations and pictorial directories of congregations he had served.

These all were articles that carried either sentimental or practical value for a former pastor.  Yet there came a time when a stranger was going through them.  Furthermore, one of the containers was a cardboard box which had been exposed to water, and most of the books inside had sustained severe water damage.

Consequently, much of what was once valued by an individual had to be discarded.  Though I never knew the man, I still found it rather sad.  If you’ve ever had to process a loved one’s possessions after their passing, you’ve experienced a similar situation and sentiments … only undoubtedly magnified due to your connection with them. 

We have so much stuff!  Every single one of us has … so … much … stuff!

When my wife and I moved a few years ago, we got rid of a LOT of things.  But after all our “purging,” we still had a LOT!  Since we’ve moved into our new home, we’ve accumulated even more.

We all are abundantly blessed by our God – certainly spiritually, but also materially.  Simply living in the United States positions people for prosperity.  Consequently, most have a pile of possessions.

If you doubt this, consider the booming storage business in our country.  The United States has more than 52,000 storage facilities containing over 2.1 million individual self-storage units.  (And more are always being built!)  The estimated rentable storage of all those facilities equals 2.1 billion square feet. 

Why all that space?  Because 1 in 10 households rent storage.  And that doesn’t include the stuff crammed into our closets, attics, spare rooms, garages, sheds, or barns.

Yup, we have a LOT of stuff!

The wild thing about this is that we can’t take any of it with us!  Everyone acknowledges this truth, yet it seems to dissuade few from accumulating more.

The simple truth is that one day after we are gone someone will be wading through our ocean of possessions, having to make difficult decisions about what to do with them … and it won’t matter even one bit to us.

What will matter after the Lord calls us out of this world is NOT how much stuff we have piled up in our lives, but what is (or isn’t!) in our soul.

Jesus specifically addressed this matter with these powerful, thought-provoking and sobering questions: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

That’s quite a contrast: “The whole world” versus one’s “soul.”  To state it another way, it’s the physical versus the spiritual.  As physical creatures in a physical world, the physical is powerfully attractive.  But Jesus reminds us that the true treasure is the spiritual … faith in our Savior in our souls.

As Jesus stated so clearly to Martha after her brother, Lazarus, had died, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26).

As Christians, we recognize what should be our proper priorities (the Lord, his word, and our souls), yet “life” so easily and often distracts us with things that, in the end, really don’t matter.  In the end, the only thing that will matter is that we transition from life to Life.  That is, from life in this physical world to eternal Life in heaven with our Savior. 

And the only way that happens is if there is life (faith in Jesus!) in our souls.

That spiritual life in our souls is created and nurtured through the living, powerful, and life-changing word of God.  The Gospel is the good stuff. 

No.  More than that.  The gospel is the greatest stuff of all in this world because the Holy Spirit uses it to lead sinners to salvation in the next world.

Which means that, regardless of how much or little physical stuff you own, if you have saving faith in your soul, you have more than enough!

So, if you are inclined, certainly keep, store and treasure your physical stuff.  But never lose sight of your greatest treasure – the only one that really matters when you die and the only possession you can take with you – that is, faith in your Savior in your soul.  Do everything possible to ensure that treasure is always safely stored and actively cared for.

As Jesus himself urges, “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)

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Philippians 3:7-9
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  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 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.