“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21 NIV)
This Scripture demands that I to decide what my treasure is. But I need to step away from the nice “religious sounding” choices — ranging from “peace & Jesus” to “whatever God wants.” These sound like good answers, and I truly do want them… but before I can rest in the right words, I want to explore the reality of what I consider “treasure.”
What do I treasure? When I was younger, I would surely have said whatever makes me happy, like a family peaceful, exercising daily, making good food choices, being well liked, and doing God’s will to be a blessing to others. Now that I am “seasoned, but not well done,” I hope what I treasure pleases God more than it pleases me. I now understand that relationships are more important than circumstances. Having been a program vs. people person all my life, I can now understand why something as debilitating as FMS had to occur. When I fixated on program, I was so concerned that everything went just right, all the pieces fell into place, and the event was a success. I dismissed people’s comfort, stress levels, and individual needs because they just weren’t as important as the needs of making the program work, be it teaching, retreats, or seminars.
Through FMS, God molds me into a new person who recognizes the value of relationships. My treasure must not depend on my plans, programs, or expectations. I want my heart to be filled with compassion, understanding, and God’s love for other people. Yes, my heart does yearn for these components. With the little energy I have, I want to spend it on God’s people… yet, Lord, I must confess, I spend a lot of energy on my physical comfort. Pain so grabs me sometimes that it is all I can focus on… so Lord, somehow, transfer my focus onto each person you give me to love.
Still, I find myself I listening more to my body than the person talking to me. The only way to step past this physical barrier is to seek You, Lord. Yes — seeking You — that’s what I want my heart’s desire to be! Seeing You in the needs of others. Seeing You in the joys of the day. Seeing You through the curtain of disappointments, of pain, of missed opportunities. Jesus’ blood is that curtain. And it is His sacrifice, that is my treasure.
At last, I can now look with my mind’s eye directly into my heart and see what my treasure is. My treasure is Jesus, on the cross, choosing the nails because He wants me with Him for all eternity. How could I ever doubt otherwise! My God wants me, I am His treasure, warts and all. And knowing this fills my spirit with such joy that it leaks out as tears. Do we not choke up, even cry, when the hand of God touches us! May my treasure be shedding those tears of joy, in the Name of Jesus, with every person God chooses to cross my path!
Thank You Lord. You are indeed the treasure of my heart! Amen!
As Magnum P.I. used to say, “Just another day in Paradise!” (For those of you unfamiliar with this TV detective show, set in Hawaii, and starring Tom Selleck, watch it on the oldies but goodies reruns.) When waking up to another sunny, perfect temperature day in California, these words often come to mind. But as a Christian, the weather is not my barometer for another gorgeous day. My Paradise day begins when I acknowledge, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps. 118:24 NIV)
