Storing Ice Cubes

"Today's Devotion" For May 18, 2005

Read: II Peter 3:10-13; Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

STORING ICE CUBES

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun." (Eccl. 2:11)

There's a story about a Boston terrier who used to make his owner laugh uproariously. It seems this little critter had a penchant for burying things, and then going back later to uncover them. Having dug up the doggy-treasure, this terrier then brought it to the master to show off. One of its more hilarious activities was burying ice cubes. The dog's owner found it knee-slapping hilarious to watch his beloved canine go back to the spot of an "ice cube" bury and frantically search for the now melted cube. Of course it had disappeared, but the poor dog just never got it and would continue to dig frantically, looking vainly for its lost treasure.

Sadly, although human beings lay claim to being smarter than terriers, we're not always so smart in our choice of "treasures." People have their own "ice cubes" that they "bury" for the future, planning to use them at a later date, but finding out how worthless such things are when "push comes to shove." The writer of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher (Eccl. 1:1), laments that he stored up his own "ice cubes." His anguish is that, after spending a lifetime building his fortune and fame, growing his holdings and increasing the number of people who served him, and indulging his every whim and desire, at the end of his days, as he looked at all he had amassed and done, he realized that it all was useless and without meaning. All these things didn't get him anywhere meaningful. He realized at the end of His life that all his amassing of "ice cubes" meant nothing as they melted away in the face of the spiritual reality that he had failed in his relationship with God.

Could it be that we, too, need to heed the lesson of the Preacher? In my own life I've observed that I all too often have put value on things that are useless and worthless over the long haul. There was a time in my life that I really believed I needed to do a lot of things, accomplish great successes, and have a bunch of money in order to validate myself and the talents God has given me. What I found out, as have many others before and since, is that I was striving to store "ice cubes," while my relationships with God, my wife, and my children were suffering. That's the nature of Sin in our lives. We forget what’s really important. We look for more money, more possessions, more prestige, more security, more...more... more...of everything, except, all too often, a deep and lasting relationship with God and the loved ones He give us. We want those things that will make us feel good now, not things that don't bring the final "reward" until after we're buried ourselves.

On the Last Day, no amount of amassed earthly goods and possessions will assuage God's wrath toward Sin or gain eternal life with Him in heaven. But, by the grace and mercy of God, real treasure has come into our lives in Jesus Christ. Baptized into Christ, we have suffered death with Him to Sin. Baptized into Christ, we’ve been raised to new life with Him before our Father in heaven. Baptized into Christ, we are living witnesses to God's love and forgiveness. In Christ we’ve been given the hope and promise of lasting treasure in heaven. Our greatest treasure isn't the "ice cubes" of earthly fame, fortune, and possessions which "melt away" in the face of eternity, but Christ’s redemption of us from Sin, death, and Satan. While we have neither earned nor deserve such a treasure, we can be certain it's not a "storing of ice cubes." It will never melt away. It's something to be lived and used everyday.

Prayer: Father, I admit that it's all too easy to be tempted by a "shiny bauble" or a chance at the "big time" in this world. I often find myself "storing ice cubes," thinking that what has seeming value today will have that same value tomorrow. As Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, it's more important for me to "store up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt. 6:20). Father, forgive me for too often looking for treasure on earth when my real and lasting treasure is with You in heaven. You sent Jesus to suffer the curse of Sin and Death for me so that my eyes could be fixed on heaven. Give me a heart filled with the hope of faith and forgiveness, Your gifts to me in Christ, so that I, having my priorities straight, my values focused, and my "ice cube" radar operating, might be a living witness to what's most important in life for everyone - knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. In His precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.