Gate of Babylon

From the anime Fate Zero (mentioned in this post), there is a character by the name of Gilgamesh, who can be summoned by a magician to fight. Gilgamesh is some sort of a legendary Babylon king who is famous for collecting and storing riches in the "Gate of Babylon". Specifically, he collects swords, and his technique "Gate of Babylon" is all about explosive swords flying at you at the speed of sound. That move is kinda cool, that even Final Fantasy 13-2 has a boss who uses it. Gilgamesh also stores very fine wine in that gate.

Gilgamesh's character is one who boasts a lot of himself, and looks down at everyone else to the point of calling them mongrels. He boasts in his success of collecting the best swords of the world.

This made me think of the concept of storing treasure, which one of my favorite passages of the bible talk about:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21

So I want to follow through an earlier post I have: http://koinowarrior.blogspot.ca/2010/03/what-are-you-thirsting-for.html

From the start of sermon of the mount (Matthew 5) until the above passage, Jesus talks about various laws at which many Jews obey it by the letter, but fail to obey by the spirit. For example, one will not murder his brother, but he might have thoughts of hatred towards him. Or one man will not commit adultery, but will look lustfully at a woman. There is a big emphasis on the person's inner motive. It is not about the outward appearance, because it is easy to fake living like a Christian. So the question reside in the motivation behind a person's action.

When it pertains to good actions like studying hard, working hard, and serving hard, it is important to reflect and ask ourselves why are we doing this. Are we doing it for our selfish gain, for popularity, for reputation, for success? Or are we truly working as we are doing it for the Lord (Col 3:23)? What drives you to pursue to do those good actions? What do you desire? It is important to understand that we need to focus on God and His Kingdom in the activities we do here on earth. That the primarily focus is on God, and not in the activities themselves, because we can get too attached to a ministry that it comes an idol, or we can be mastered by the success of studies, and that is also idolatry.

I also want to introduce my concept of "kingdom currency". Whenever I make decisions regarding serving and investing my time I consider prayerfully which choice will grant me more impact in the Kingdom work. So it's like where I can invest more in the Kingdom, so that it will create more "kingdom currency". Regardless, it is very important invest in the Kingdom in the activities we are involved in. For example, if we are serving hard, it is not just about running the program but about impacting and investing in the people who attend the program. If we are studying hard is because we want to be trained so that we can use the skills in the future for God's work. If we are working hard, it is because we can become a good witness towards others.

So what's the meaning of "storing up treasure in heaven"? I don't think I have a good grasp of this concept yet, but my current thought is that we as Christians ought to focus on God in everything we do because Christ Himself is our most precious treasure and in Him we find joy. Hence, if God is our treasure, our hearts is also there, and consequently we would want to act in alignment to His will. As a result, our character is transformed, we study hard with joy, we work hard with joy, we serve hard with joy, we impact other's people's lives (through discipling, teaching, mentoring, evangelizing, witnessing). I think these are the treasures that cannot be taken away.

I think the next step is to encourage and challenge others to living in the same manner. So let each of our "gate of Babylon" that encapsulates the testimonies, character molding, impact in people's live, the track of records in God's work leave a legacy for others to follow.

As the time for Easter comes near, let us reflect in the motivation of why do we do the things we do. We have been saved by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, and we are not to live for ourselves, but we live for our risen King.