“TREASURES”

By Mary Jeppson

      Last week when I was doing my homework for the bible study class I was having a difficult time concentrating on the task at hand. One of the questions referred to a verse in Matthew chapter seven. I opened my study bible. At the top of the page it read MATTHEW 7. I promptly went to verse 21 and read it. I decided to write the verse down in my workbook because I really didn’t understand how the verse was related to what we were studying. As it turned out, in class when I happened to read that question and answer…I found out why!  I had the wrong chapter. I had seen the heading on the top of the page but did not realize chapter seven started at the bottom of the first column! I read Matthew chapter six…not seven! We had a good laugh in class! Actually, I’m still laughing! Dah!

      Sometimes we stumble upon things that can make us think about where we are in life. This verse did just that. Matthew 6:21 reads “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” This caught my interest because I had been going through boxes of all our treasures. Some had not been opened since we moved here ten years ago! It made me wonder how valuable these treasures really were. I began to read about this verse. The Sermon on the Mount begins in Matthew Chapter 5 through Chapter 7. It is in this section of Matthew in which Jesus began to teach the disciples beginning with The Beatitudes. It made me realize, this is a section we (Jesus’ disciples) should read and meditate on. Jesus taught…“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroys, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroy, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

      We all yearn for treasures which will bring us happiness and security. We want wealth, property and all kinds of earthly goods. With all these things we believe we’ll be happy and content. However, we can spend time worrying that we may lose all this security and stuff and become stressed. “Jesus teaches us that our true treasure lies in good works and an upright life, which will be eternally rewarded by God in heaven. “ That indeed is a treasure which one never loses, a treasure on which Christ’s disciple should put his heart.” He’s not saying we should be unconcerned about earthly things, he’s telling us no created thing can be the treasure or the ultimate aim. We need to make our way to God, to sanctify ourselves and give all glory to God “by making right use of the noble things of the earth.”