Treasure!

Treasure!

Matthew 6:21 AMP

[21] for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.

Jesus was speaking to the disciples as he sat on the mountain, during his first public sermon. He was covering different kingdom topics, ranging from how you give to the poor, how you relate with other people in your sphere of influence, and how you engage God in prayer. There was a lot of information that Jesus passed across to the audience, and in the verse above, He was speaking about the principles of God's kingdom, which, in this case, are my pursuits and priorities. It does not matter how young or old you are; we all have things that we consider important to us. We are defined by the things that we pursue, because our lives can be consumed by the pursuit. It has to be worth the sacrifice and pain for it to consume my whole life. Is there anything that I can categorically deifne as my life's pursuit and purpose? What is that thing that takes my heart?

Treasure is 'a quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects'. There is no definite object or substance that is applicable to everyone. What I consider fundamental may just be a nice-to-have for someone else. This tells me that there is no universally applicable measure to track what is treasure for every person on earth. This is why it is very dangerous to focus on that which the earth can give you. That which it gives can also be taken away at any time. How can a temporal earthly, with ever-changing and constantly moving principles, guarantee you anything that is eternal? A time-honoured life principle is that 'you cannot give what you do not have'. If you do not have eternal value, you cannot pass it down to any other person. That is the charge of the verse above: I must seek out, and focus on that which is worth the pain and sacrifice that will be demanded of me.

If it is precious, be sure that there will be threats to deal with. If it is precious, it means that I will be required to take active steps to secure and sustain it. If it is precious, it means that it will take all of my heart to secure it at all times. It is not a wonder that the verse above makes clear that wherever my treasure is, that is where my heart will definitely follow after. The heart is the seat of decisions. It takes available information and processes it, then comes to a decision, and acts on it. Once it has made up its mind on what is important, it is hard to shift it without a superior counter argument. Before I take a decision with eternal consequences, I am reminded to seek as much information as I can on what God offers. He does not promise perpetually blue skies, but He promises me His ever-abiding presence. I must take care to ensure that my life's pursuits and priorities are those that will secure eternal life for me. Nothing else is worth it. God's time of favour is here.