Treasures In Heaven

Treasures In Heaven

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. –Matthew 6:19-21

David’s uncle Bernard made a fortune as an entrepreneurial inventor, using wood by-products to make roofing material. Bernard and his wife, Loene, were known for being pack rats. One day Bernard decided to clear out years’ worth of old newspapers from the basement while Loene was away. What he didn’t know until after the paper was destroyed was that Loene had stashed thousands of dollars worth of cash in the paper stacks for “safekeeping.”

So much of what we value is so vulnerable—our possessions and wealth, our families, our health, our abilities and reputations—it is all vulnerable to loss and destruction. Is there anything we can’t lose? Only what we send ahead for storage in heaven is protected for our eternal enjoyment. So how do we store our treasures in heaven?

We must ask ourselves, What treasure has God given to me, and what is God asking me to do with it? The treasure you value most might not necessarily be money. It may be your athletic ability, your academic prowess, or your career potential. How can you give it away to build God’s Kingdom? God might be asking you to surrender your child to ministry or sacrifice your leisurely Saturdays to mentor a needy child. God wants you to use what you value most to serve his Kingdom. That’s the way you spend your financial and personal capital in a way that ensures it will be returned to you later.

The same Aunt Loene who stashed cash in newspapers stipulated in her will that David should receive one of her three grand pianos after her death. And sure enough, one day a truck pulled up in front of our house and off came a Steinway grand piano. But sticky stars from years of piano lessons and dust from disuse had taken their toll, making the piano unusable. Everything of value here is vulnerable to decay, but only those things that we give away for the glory of God are secure. What we treasure here is fleeting, but our treasure in heaven is forever.

My Treasure Keeper, how I love and hold tightly to the treasures of this earth! Help me to loosen my grip with a vision for the future and a confidence in your faithfulness to reward me for everything I give away for your glory.

DIGGING DEEPER