"Left Behind"

That old dried up headstall,

And that old saddle pad,

Thrown back in a corner,

‘Bout all that he had,

‘Cept that old Wade saddle,

A-hanging by a string,

Hard to say the cowboy,

Left much of anything.

But come to think about it,

What all he left behind,

Was a life lived for the Savior,

And good as gold and kind.

You see it was this cowboy,

Who worked there for my Dad,

And he taught me the good things,

And for them I am glad.

Like how to handle cattle,

And how to sit your mount,

How to doctor sick ones,

More things than I can count.

But best of all he taught me,

That the way to be a man,

Was give your life to Jesus,

And do the best you can,

To let the Spirit lead you,

And live the golden rule,

Forgive all those who hurt you,

And never become cruel.

So when he died they called me,

They knew that I would come,

‘Cause I’m the cowboy preacher,

To get his service done.

And now that we have done it,

We prayed and sang and ate,

Thought I’d take a minute,

‘Fore it gets too late.

To just look through his things a bit,

And touch him one more time,

The friend who showed me Jesus,

And left so much behind.

“Store your treasures in heaven…” (Mt. 6:20, NLT)

The only real treasure worth having, according to Jesus, is eternal treasure. His emphasizes that anything other than that may bring temporary pleasure but ultimately is meaningless. It will deteriorate and is not worth having. Eternal life is given to those who put their faith in Jesus. He also adds to this rewards for doing His will on earth. If we obey Him, He will reward us eternally. Do we understand what those rewards will be? Not exactly. But in the big sweep of things, we don’t really have to know the details. What matters is that we have a spiritual priority and live on earth as citizens of heaven. We live in time but for eternity, in Jesus’ name.

Lord, help us lay up treasures in heaven, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, brucegreeneart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.