Where is your Treasure?

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust 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 

With colder weather coming on I have this funny habit in which I like to go outside and see for myself just how cold it actually is.  To accomplish this, of course, one needs a reliable thermometer.  I had a fairly good one, but one windy night a couple of years ago it blew off of the carport where I had placed it and was broken.  Sadly, I have not replaced it.  The other night I was going through my desk and I found a little thermometer which I thought would be perfect for the job.  I told Andrea about the thermometer and she stopped me cold, no pun intended.  Andrea feels that this little thermometer is better suited to using inside rather than outside as it is affixed to a decorative little wooden plate.  I explained that it has been in the desk for the last ten years and needs put to use.  She wouldn’t budge.  That little treasure was returned to its box, placed back in the desk, and there it remains.   

This caused me to consider all the treasure we bury away in desk drawers, attics, basements, and garages.  People often get rid of their treasures by having a yard sale, but until then there it all sits, idle and unused.  Jesus said that if we are not careful we can end up spending all our time storing up treasure here on earth while neglecting the task of storing heavenly treasure.  Someone has said that there are no moving vans behind hearses.  None of us take any of our possessions with us when we leave this world.  That is why Jesus said that we must store up treasure in heaven.

What is this treasure anyway and how do we obtain it?  Heavenly treasure is stored up through a personal relationship with Christ, a humble spirit, acts of love, kindness, and compassion, a forgiving attitude, and helping others in any way possible.  All of these carry with them a heavenly reward reserved for us when we cross over one day.  If our hearts are focused and set upon worldly wealth and treasure, then that is where our hearts will remain.  In the end we will be left with only those possessions which, like it or not, will be left behind for someone else.  

 

Christ calls us to set our hearts on Him, which in turn leads us to store up treasure in heaven through lives well-lived.  Helping others and reaching out in Jesus’  name is always time well spent.   

Okay, I’m off to shop for that thermometer.  I hope I find a good one!