Treasures

What do you treasure? Make a list of the things you associate with the word “treasure.” You might treasure your family or loved ones, maybe your car or your house, perhaps it’s your 401k or the zeroes in your bank account. There might be a slice of beach somewhere that you treasure. Did salvation make your list? What about God’s love? The Holy Spirit? Forgiveness? Jesus?

“‘Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.’” (Matthew 6:19-21)

After a two-year decline, car theft rose 10% last year in the United States. Many big cities are restricting police officers’ abilities to pursue criminals; many more have stripped money from police departments and, as a result, many big cities are seeing theft and crime rates rise. If you’ve stored your treasure here on earth, this is very worrisome news. Jesus warned two thousand years ago that thieves will break in and steal your earthly treasures. If you store your treasures in Heaven, no moths or rust will touch them, no thieves will break in and steal them. So what can you store in heaven? Certainly not your car or house, not earthly possessions. Those family members and those loved ones, however, you can definitely store those treasures in Heaven. We spread the Good News of the gospel and the saving grace of Jesus Christ because we love others and we want to see them in Heaven one day.

“‘But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” (Jeremiah 31:33)

God’s laws, God’s commands, Jesus’ teachings—these are all things we should treasure and all can be stored within our hearts. Remember that Jesus pointed out that where our treasure is, there our heart will be. If we put our treasure in earthly things, then our heart will be found here on earth. Let us store our treasure in heaven and in doing so, our hearts will be found in Heaven.

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:8-9)

By the way, gold, that most precious of earthly treasures—that’s pavement in Heaven.

“The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.” (Revelation 21:21)

Store up your treasures in Heaven and there your heart will also be, where no rust can touch it, no moths can eat it, and no thieves can steal it. Your treasures and your heart are secure in Heaven.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.