What to Keep and What to Throw Away

Have you ever thrown away something you later realized you should have kept? Or, impulsively given away something only to regret it later?

Whether it was a receipt for a purchase later to be found defective, or a box of life’s mementos we felt took up too much precious storage space, we probably have all thrown away or given away something in the moment only to realize too late its value.

How do we know for sure what to keep and what to throw away?  One answer is we learn as we go, and that usually means learning from our mistakes.  That kind of learning is helpful, but it can also come with a lot of regrets along the way.

One important issue in keeping and throwing away things is the matter of storage space.  We have moved a lot over the years and there is nothing like packing and unpacking, and paying the storage costs, that encourages a lot of throwing away!  A family of any size can accumulate a lot of stuff over the years, so storage space becomes very important.

Something I thought I didn’t need at the time, or could do without, often later proved to have been more valuable than I realized when weighed against the lack of space in which to store it.

That brings to mind the places where we store our most valuable possessions.  Some of the first places we think about are, of course, our homes where we live.  Then, depending upon the item itself, it might go into a safe deposit box in a bank, or any number of other places.

How often do we think about our hearts being a place to store and treasure things?

I am reminded of the verse in Luke 2:19 where we are told about Mary’s method of storing some things she couldn’t yet understand but somehow knew these things were only going to become more valuable to her as time passed and she must not let them get away from her: 

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (NIV 1984.)

Wow.  She kept them in the perfect storage place that would always be with her no matter how many times she moved!

Mary, the mother of the Christ-child, Jesus, took in an overwhelming amount of information delivered to her by an angel, in essence telling her that she, an unmarried virgin, would be the mother of God’s one and only Son born in the flesh to a human mother, by an amazing event:  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…”   See Luke 1:26 and verses following.

There are so many wonderful things to pull out of these verses and ponder in our hearts, enough to occupy our thoughts for years to come.

But, in keeping with our thoughts today about the things we keep and the things we throw away, and our limited space and time, let’s consider just two things:  purity and faith.

Mary had kept her virginity, for without it, she could not have been chosen as Jesus’s mother; and, when faced with a radically unexpected life change, she kept her faith – her confidence in the God of her childhood.

She kept two most precious and treasured gifts from God Himself:  purity and faith.  And, we can too.

Even when we ignorantly throw away some things of infinite worth before we even realize their value, God provides redemption and restoration to our lives through His Son, and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  God is the greatest Giver of all time; and He gives grace irrevocably.

He gave grace and truth through Jesus, granting forgiveness of sin and restoring purity lost by the robe of Christ’s righteousness that He drapes over us when we admit our sin by repenting of it and turning to Him:  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NIV 1984).

If you, like me, have a deep concern for the ways the world seems to be throwing away the foundational Christian teachings that many of us had the unquestioned privilege of growing up with and having the Bible and its teachings freely available; and now seeing those privileges increasingly taken away, leaving the resulting confusion of so many people, young and old alike, who are making decisions without the Truth about what really has worth and must be kept at all costs, and  what can be casually thrown away, then you know why I am passionate about God’s Word and keeping the truth alive and available for the precious generations following ours -- each of ours, no matter what year in which we were born.

One morning this summer, I awakened and went into my quiet time with God’s Word open and my pen in hand to study and record what captured my thoughts.  All of my neediness seemed to weigh me down and I began to list some of my perceived needs in my written prayer-letter to the Lord, my Father:

·      My need for my heart’s constant connection with the Lord my God;

·      My need for truth’s clarity of my mind and thoughts;

·      My need to  assess what kind of “fruit” my life is producing;

·      My need to know what my Father thinks of my progress so far.

At the end of my studying and praying-writing time, I was amazed to go back and see how He had pulled together for me that my true need is perseverance and how valuable it is to my felt needs.  Above all, He instilled in me again that He has provided for all of my needs and my part is to continue to have confidence in Him and believe His word.

 And that is why as  I read Hebrews 10:35-36, I had to pause and praise Him that “need” had  indeed pulled me from my bed, but that He, in all His faithfulness, and mercy and grace,  always without fail truly provides for every need that I will ever encounter.

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere, so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”           Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV 1984).

My reading had started in Hebrews chapter 5 and by the time I reached Hebrews 11:16, I was so excited and energized that I just couldn’t wait to begin an in-depth study with Him.

My prayer is that each of us, regardless of age, might know and fully realize how great life with Him is, and was meant to be, and will always be in His Presence.

Sometimes it feels like we, as believers, are living by faith in a world gone blind. 

However, we must not throw away our confidence for it will be richly rewarded one day.  And, we are to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another --- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  …  For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay’.”  Hebrews 10:25, 37 (NIV 1984).

My friends, we do see the Day approaching, don’t we? And, how are we to live and spend these remaining days left to each of us?

 Prayerfully read in your Bible the passages not typed into this posting:  Hebrews 10:26-34. There is truly a good Bible study found in Hebrews 10:1-39.  I would encourage a good retreat to study this section, and all of the Book of Hebrews.

 I have included verses 38-39 here from Hebrews 10:  “But my righteous one will live by faith.  And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Hebrews 10:38-39 (NIV 1984).

The thoughts expressed above are based on, and pulled from, Hebrews 10:19-39, in the NIV 1984 translation.  That section in my Bible is entitled:  “A Call to Persevere.”

We can know what to keep and what to throw away by asking and seeking.  The Lord our God, the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has preserved His written word that we may know Him.  He knows all and tells us all we need to know.    See Deuteronomy 29:29.

And, we, the saved of the Lord, continue to live by faith and not by sight even if in a world that seems to have gone blind…  We are reminded in Hebrews 11:1:  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  (NIV 1984.)

An in-depth of study of faith and those who lived by faith and what they accomplished by faith, is found in Hebrews chapter 11, where verses 13 - 16 remind us that:

 “All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” 

Be encouraged and excited about our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, as you continue to read and study and explore all the treasure He has kept securely in His written word, for He is coming back for His people. 

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!”  Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. …  He who testifies to these thing things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”  Revelation 22:17, 20 (NIV 1984).