Treasures
By Patricia Jackson
McDowell County
Recently my friend helped me clean out a storage building. I wanted to unburden myself from material things I would never use, and hopefully find others who would use them. She waited patiently as I rifled through each box, considering each article, and occasionally sharing the history of my treasures. At one point, I held onto an object, previously belonging to my mother. I could not decide whether to keep it or let it go. I then quickly handed it to her and said: “you keep the treasure and I will treasure the memory”. At this point, she reminded me of the scripture in Matthew 6 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I reflected on how some of my treasures were already corrupted. I thought I had packed them securely in a secure building. But a mouse chewing or soiling the item or time had ruined some of them. Sadly, on earth, there is no guaranteed safe place, due to fires, moths, rust, thieves, time, or even a little mouse.
Often times we think of a treasure as having great monetary value: diamonds, gold, silver, or gems. Very few of us will ever own truly expensive treasures. Our earthly treasures are things of the heart, often things we cherish, of value to no one but us. We are treasuring the memory of the item, as well as the actual item. Egyptians were buried with many different objects because they believed those objects would help the deceased in their journey to the afterlife. It’s not unusual for a loved one to place a favorite child’s toy, or a favorite piece of jewelry worn on the deceased, in the casket. We know these items will never leave the casket.
The items we treasure here have no comparison to the treasures we will have in heaven. How do we store up treasures in heaven? First, we need to realize that Jesus Christ is the most important treasure of all. Just as we have a personal relationship with inanimate objects, we must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; by accepting him as Lord and Savior. When Jesus is our treasure, we will give our time, our money, and resources to serving him and to his work. We can only do that if we are motivated to serve Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24 tells us we must work at it with all our hearts to receive an inheritance from the lord as a reward because we are serving the Lord. Our ultimate rewards are with God. We must literally set our mind on things above, and not be preoccupied with things on earth. God has blessed all of us with spiritual gifts, whether it be praying for others, preaching, singing, teaching, testifying, or playing a musical instrument. If we give of ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, we know our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
When we set our affection on things above and not on things on the earth, we will have wondrous treasures in heaven. That should be our daily goal.
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Patricia Jackson is the Assistant Teacher for the Ladies Class at Redeemed Free Will Baptist Church, Glenwood, NC. She is a grant writer for non-profits, a published author and retired Nursing Home Administrator. She lives in Rutherford County with her husband. Contact information: email address: wyo2go@bellsouth.net.
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You can read more from Patricia HERE.
