scripture as I see it

Friday brought another weekly visit from Bonnie.  Due to the hectic nature of the last few weeks, it was a lovely time of peace and reflection.

Here are some of the scriptures we looked at.

This was one that was given when I mentioned the incredible life of my Aunt Betty.  She was a truly remarkable woman and even though there was gladness in her "long life," I still believe life should never cease.


Psalm 90:10 (New International Version)
The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

I mentioned to Bonnie and Lori that I had attended a mom's group on Thursday morning.  The woman were very friendly and accepting of me.  However, at one point the women talked of "mansions" in heaven.  That they were building castles or mansions in heaven, since the Bible says that we should store up our treasures there.  Bonnie had mentioned the following a few weeks back:

1 John 2:15-17 (New International Version)
Do Not Love the World
Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Due to the above scripture, I found it (in simple thoughts) hypocritical to suggest that tangible things were the treasures to be stored in heaven.  I really believe that treasures are matters of the heart, not of the physical.  So I was perplexed at how these ladies were able to derive that from the above verses.  Of course I smiled and let the women discuss who had the larger home in heaven.  It reminded me of a contest in elementary school focused on who had the most toys.

So here are the "treasure" verses in the Bible, which my Witness friends believe are being taken "literally" by those at the mom's group:

Matthew 6:19-21 (New International Version)
Treasures in Heaven 
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


and then:

Matthew 6:33 (New International Version)
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.


I really want to give my heart and soul to God...to give all my cares to him...and to truly allow him to guide my life.  In that respect I would be storing my treasures in heaven.  Not building a mansion, for that is a tangible "earthly" or "worldly" thing.


The next meeting will be about the special date of 1914 and how it relates to Jesus's reign on Earth.  The Witnesses are amazing to me, but I'm still VERY comfortable in my beliefs.  However, I am proud that I continue to have an open heart and mind to everything and everyone out there.