Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast. Episode 11. A Good Year for the Unseen: Making the Divine Precious
(Part 3 of a 3-post series on filling your 2023 earthly life with heavenly treasures.)
(click here to listen)
Hello human.
In the first post, Beautiful Earthly Things, we explored how our natural affinity to treasure things on earth might be transferred to seeking the Kingdom of God, the sovereign heavenly treasure in our earthly walk.
In the second post, The God of Divine Craftmanship, we followed the path to seeking His divine character through His creation and treasuring eternity placed in our hearts through our good works.
Which brings us to the season of THE SEEN, the celebration of when divinity walked amongst us.
Baby Jesus. Heaven’s Giver. 33 Years of Divinity’s Footsteps on this Earth.
God’s mastery in building a temple was the exact measure of divine craftsmanship for that moment, for His people. His every detail reflected His glory and sovereignty. 1400+ years later, the most precious of all gifts was born.
Swaddled amongst animal dung, splintered wood, wind drafts. Rough cover for the birth of the Savior of the world. Not born into a life of luxuries and assurances, not born into a home of riches and beautiful earthly treasures. Not floated down the river to become part of Pharaoh’s world. Not born into earthly affluence, influence, and privilege. Yet this baby, the Giver of eternal life, needed little earthly comfort.
From a dry wooden shelter to exposed wooden cross. The perfect faith through an earthly walk guided by a heart that treasured one thing—doing his Father’s will with every step.
His footsteps, his activities, his responses set a very clear example for us.
Jesus lived a modest earthly life with precious spiritual comforts: joyous communal meals with his disciples; lively, piercing conversations with followers, questioners, debaters, and unbelievers; walking with others to show the way. Through this earthly journey, He made life precious. And eternal.
Every footstep reflected what he treasured and how he makes life precious for whoever believes in Him. He treasured people all along His path and invites every person to join His walk. How much clearer do we need it to be?
Jesus is my treasure.
From what do all treasures start? The Apostle Paul is clear.
Philippians 3:7-8
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.
What do you treasure in life? Maybe a better place to start is, what treasures actually take up your day space?
We did not walk with Jesus on this earth. There is no one alive who has. But he was here. Born, raised, crucified. Resurrected.
Paul encourages us to focus on the UNSEEN.
2 Corinthians 4:18
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
He was telling us to invest our time, our energy, and our resources in things that have eternal value. That will last forever.
Pre-heat the Oven. Brioche is Yet Another Beautiful Earthly Thing.
So I do what I know to do. Pre-heat the oven. What if: I bake the bread, and upon cooling, slice it and set it by the window. I have beautiful eastern light in my kitchen when the day starts. In the morning the sun rises above the Atlantic and finds its way through the harried abundance of Colington Island trees full of debating feathered tree dwellers, onto my bread.
Morning light on risen bread. This moment is no less gratifying than getting lost in the grain of my coffee table or standing in admiration of a boldly designed purse.
I purchased the moment with time, invested curiosity and measured know-how. This bread was my first brioche. A claim all its own. My heart’s intent is the yeast that makes this part of my day rise to eternal qualities. How do I find heavenly treasure in this earthly process? I give some of my first brioche to my neighbor. Heaven’s touch. Why? Because I am in a season when anything that starts in my kitchen is quite personal to me. It represents God’s workmanship in me. It is often my connection to someone. This is also true of anything that comes from my laptop, aka my writing.
How we steward our moments is the road to treasuring heavenly qualities. Taking the affinity our human nature has to beautiful things and using it to bake spirit bread. It is not about denying expensive things. Or a house, or car, or stocks, boats, clothes, status, power, and… on and on.
It’s about not building a stash of earthly things that will mold and rot. It is about seeking a richness of life that requires spiritual diligence. An exquisitely crafted journey that leaves no time for accruing that stash and all the time for moving through the lives of others.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints, and marrow (sparrow); it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Seeking heavenly treasures in earthly moments has a way of kneading our heart’s intent into something more. Our heart’s intent determines if the moment, “the thing, the experience” we are creating will be something we take with us.
Let’s bring our spiritual gold, frankincense, and myrrh into 2023. This is a good year for the UNSEEN. Make life precious for others on earth. What would be some examples to follow in Jesus’ earthly footsteps?
How about…
Engaging in a conversation worthy of heavenly sustainability. Being completely present, praying about that person’s life before and after talking, and giving that person something you haven’t given them before, of yourself. I did this recently with a relative, and a longtime friend. I am working on doing this with everyone on my path as a habit.
How about…
Sharing a growth experience that gives both of you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of how to love and inspire one another. My daughter-in-law and I are reading through our second scripture-based book and sharing personal writing excerpts.
And, how about…
Using your God-given gift(s) in a specific action to inspire someone. For me—that my daily life in this season is about being faithful to my witness and sharing that witness.
To look for that which lasts. That will not mold, or rot.
I do not want to forget the journey I am on. I do not want to forget that I am not just making my beloved urban walk to Columbus Circle. Earth is not my destination, but how I learn to lay my treasures on spirit things can happen during that walk. Heavenly treasures stay with you on the journey. Heavenly treasures are eternal. They endure for the long haul.
My Heart is in My Field
I want to deeply love making God precious.
Far more than the grain in my coffee table. But THAT way. I want to tout my spiritual belongings in my heart farther than my personal items in a designer purse. But THAT way.
This series is not about expensive things, a VIP lifestyle or the merits of a custom-made earthly life. We have been considering earthly things we love that represent craftsmanship, aesthetic, efficiency and style to inspire us to seek the finer things of the spirit.
It is about making the divine precious.
I want my life to reflect the superior craftmanship of my Maker: a beautiful spirit-filled walk, executed with understatement and efficiency, and in the style of who my Psalm 139-self is. Divinely made.
I want us, you and me, to seek a deep understanding of how God’s Will illuminates our lives through His workmanship. I want to appreciate my life, your life and God in THAT way.
My bread will continue to rise on earth. God’s craftsmanship will create my way. In my one field.
After all, we are God’s earthlings for a while, yet.
But I do not want to forget the journey I am on. We have to want to take our affinity for what we SEE on earth to not be grounded in earthly living, but to use our human nature to lay our treasure on the UNSEEN in our life. Be a Christ follower with one field. Lay our greatest treasure down at the feet of all THAT living, over everything we do.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:20-21
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
My heart is in my field.
His grace. My gratitude.
See ya on the Buoy.
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You can find me at kathrynbise.com and @buoykathrynb on Instagram.
Buoy is a Life in Deeper Water podcast.