The Thief and the Giver

John10:10:The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

What is precious to you in your life? What would you do to protect it?

I remember an incident many years ago when someone broke into my apartment and stole some jewelry. I was young, away from my family, and had very little to my name. Nothing that I owned was of great monetary value, but it had great emotional value. When I left home as a teenager, my mother had sent me off with a few pieces of her jewelry, and one from my aunt, among them a pair of silver filigree earrings and a silver cross. We have a picture of my aunt from the early 1900’s wearing that cross when she was a little girl. These treasures, and others, were stolen, and I was devastated. I was thankful that we were not hurt but hurt over what was lost. Thievery hurts.

Although those pieces of jewelry were precious to me, I have treasure that is of far greater value: the treasure that I have through faith in Jesus Christ. That treasure is priceless and vast, and freely given by God’s grace, through faith. The second half of John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came so that we could have life “abundantly”, and that life that He came to give us in abundance is where the wealth of our treasure lies.

What are these treasures that God, the Giver, through His grace, so generously gives? There is quite a list, including: peace, love, joy, the gospel message, the new birth and wisdom. Everything that we have through Christ is our treasure: Jesus made it available to us when He died, was resurrected on the third day, and then ascended to sit at the Father’s right hand in heaven.

In contrast to the abundance we have through Christ, the first part of John 10:10 describes the actions of the thief: steal, kill and destroy. It is not enough for the thief to steal from us, he also wants to kill and to utterly destroy so there is no trace left of us. Thieves can only do their dirty deeds when they are given opportunity to carry them out. If I had known that a thief was going to enter my home, I might have taken my jewelry with me, or hidden it better, or set a trap to catch the thief. But I was caught off guard and did not adequately protect my treasures.

The thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy, often operates in a similar fashion, quietly and secretly, so we do not realize that our treasure is being stolen piece by piece, until we wake up one day and realize that we have neglected to worship our Lord for a week, or been robbed of peaceful sleep for a month, or started to believe something other than the truth of the Word of God and the gospel of Christ.

We could choose to set our focus on the thief, but when we do that, we give him exactly what he wants; when we focus on him, we cannot focus on Christ. Mama bears are known for how fiercely they protect their babies. These mamas are gentle and nurturing with their babies, but venture too close and they become fearsome, protective giants who will fight to death to protect their own. We, as followers of Christ, must apply that same ferocity to keeping our focus on Christ in order to protect our treasure.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

It is not by our power, intelligence or skills that we protect this treasure that we have, but only through the power of God. We are these “earthen vessels”: we crack, leak, weaken and break. No place to store anything of value! But God was intentional about setting it up like this: He wants us to rely wholly on Him. We should always believe and confess that our ability to stand up to that thief, slam the door in his face, and guard our treasure comes from God.

2 Timothy 1:14: Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

This earthen vessel is the temple of the most high God, and the Holy Spirit lives in this earthen vessel. When we allow God to work in and through us, of course He will work to protect what is His! He gave us the treasure and is invested in its security! But God will not force Himself in like the thief does: no, His approach is far gentler with His people. He wants our hearts, our trust, our love.

Matthew 6:19-21: ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Verse 21 has always seemed backwards to me: in the world, we love first and treasure second. We have collections of things, like stamps or baseball cards or money, because we have a love and passion for those things. But in God’s world, we gain the treasure through faith in Jesus Christ first, and as we continue to gather these heavenly treasures through obedience to the word and will of God, a beautiful thing happens: our love for God and the things of God grows! Where we have chosen to build our treasure is also where our hearts are.

So then, guarding our treasure looks very different from God’s perspective than it does from the world’s perspective. As followers of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, our focus is not to protect, but to love, worship and follow our Lord, and give Him free reign to protect in whatever ways He sees best. Now this may involve some work on our part, but it must be work that is driven through faith, and not just of our knowledge and strength. We will always fall short, but God never will.

Resting and remaining in the presence and light of the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, is the way to protect what He has given us. Relying on His love for us, His power and His faithfulness helps us to guard our treasure, while also growing our love for Him. Stay there, don’t be in a hurry to leave. Your relationship with your Lord is the most valuable treasure you have. Guard and protect it by keeping your eyes on Him. God bless you abundantly!