In the Bible, Christ Jesus tells a man who is seeking eternal life to “go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). I had always thought of this verse as a requirement of sacrifice, but in the wake of losing several loved ones, I found these words become a gift that helped me understand eternal life.
It can be scary or disheartening to think about losing someone close to us and all the joy, wisdom, and comfort they provide. But if we are seeking comfort in those people’s lives or even in our physical homes, belongings, or bodies, it is never secure.
Jesus’ words came to me anew as encouragement to fill my life with the spiritual and unwavering qualities of family, friends, home, and comfort, for those are the things that remain with us on our eternal journey.
If you were to pack a suitcase for an international trip, you would want to fill it with the essentials and items that would safely make it through security and customs, and not with anything that could stop you from a carefree trip. In properly packing our eternal “suitcase,” we are not sacrificing space in it for worldly belongings. We are instead choosing to fill it with what is real and eternal—only with what will pass through untouched by material limitations and be with us wherever and forever.
Material treasures can seem fragile and uncertain. But real treasure can never die or be taken away. By choosing to rely on God for our comfort, peace, and security, we cannot experience their loss, nor can we or our loved ones be separated from God’s all-encompassing love and freedom.
St. Paul said, “Neither death, nor life, . . . nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39). What a beautiful promise!
Elizabeth Brooks
