EXCHANGE!

There is a ritual I go through before and after my trips to the U.S. from the U.K. Wallet-switching! I don’t carry a lot of cash with me, but what little I do is mismatched in size. The British pound notes are wider and shorter than the American dollar bills. Simply for that reason alone I use separate wallets in each country.

Moreover, I have no use for my University of Aberdeen ID card in Texas and neither do I need my DTS ID in Scotland. Those copy-machine cards I use here won’t function there, and the DTS and SMU copy-cards are unrecognizable at the U of A. My U.S. medical licenses are inconsequential here in the U.K. And so on ….

All of this mandates a ceremonial exchange of material from one pocket receptacle to another as I make the Atlantic passage back and forth between different worlds. Different requirements. Different laws. Different systems.

Jesus once said: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Different dimension. Different time. Different space. And those of us who believe in Him are already citizens of that different kingdom.

For He rescued us
from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us
to the kingdom of His beloved Son ….
Colossians 1:13

Calls for an exchange, doesn’t it? Different kingdoms. Different King. Different priorities.

As we continue our pilgrimage through Lent, reflecting upon the redemption Christ achieved for us—our exchange from one kingdom to another—let us, in turn, ponder upon exchanges we can commit to, as we seek first His kingdom.

Do not love the world
nor the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes
and the boastful pride of life,
is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1 John 2:15–16

The world we live in is so unlike the kingdom we’re part of that the exchanges we can (and must) make are diverse and myriad. But all this talk of wallets reminds me of one thing, though. Money. What currency should I hang on to? What coinage? And of which realm?

Ringing gold is hard to relinquish. Lucre is hard to leave. Mammon bids us mutiny against heaven. But you know what?

For we have brought nothing into the world,
so we cannot take anything out of it either.
1 Timothy 6:7

Nothing. NOTHING! “Life is but a pilgrimage from one point of nakedness to another.” This life certainly is. But we can prepare to be clothed in glory in the next life by exchanging our earthly funds and saving in the vaults of heaven.

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

Where is my heart? Here? Then I must exchange! And my treasure? In this world? Exchange!

How can we begin to exchange “treasure”?

Tax time, folks, is just around the corner. We know how much we gave to the Lord’s work in 2005. Let’s seriously consider increasing our giving in 2006 and let’s plan accordingly.

Let’s ensure our treasure (and our hearts) are in the right place. Then, and only then, can we pray sincerely …

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10