Earthly and heavenly treasures
19 “Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. 20 Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. 21 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Reflection
What is “treasure in heaven?” Jesus tells the story of the rich young man who followed the commandments and wanted to know what else he needed to do to obtain eternal life. Jesus tells him to go and sell everything, give the money to the poor, “then you will have treasure in heaven. And come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). The man is sad but leaves Jesus, because for all his desire to please God, his wealth is more important to him than following God’s law to love others and follow Jesus.
Heavenly treasure is what God has done for us in Christ and what we give back to God when we follow Jesus and serve
others. God gives us the abundant gifts of God’s love and grace in sending Jesus to love us, teach us, and die for us, bringing us forgiveness and life eternal. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When we follow Jesus, our heart resides with God in Christ, our heavenly treasure. Unlike earthly treasure, this eternal gift of salvation won’t rust, can’t be eaten by moths and can never be stolen from us by thieves. Rather than collecting
perishable, earthly treasure we can be generous by giving our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our
witness with others. Generosity is at the very heart of God and that same generosity flows from our hearts by giving abundantly to those in need, and creating a legacy of love and giving for the future of God’s community of faith and the world.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering & Prayer
John Wesley, founder of Methodism, taught “The Three Rules for Faithful Stewardship of Money” for Methodists to follow. The first is, Gain all you can, without hurting yourself or others. The second is, Save all you can, not to just gratify your own needs, but to care for others. Finally, we Give all we can, by using our earthly treasure for the benefits of others. We give all we can, laying up treasure in heaven, because we desire to please God. As God’s beloved children, we trust God to provide what we need to do good by serving others and making disciples for the transformation of the world.
Do you desire to please God? Where does your heart reside? How do you honor God with your treasure?
Prayer:
Holy and Loving God, our hearts are in Christ with you and we desire to please you. Help us to use our treasure to care for others and to create a legacy that serves you. Amen.