Poster Archive : September 2013
Message:. Find your treasure here
Mary Hannaby found treasure! She went for a walk with her son in the English countryside and, with a wave of her beeping metal detector, discovered a 500-year-old, gold pendant the size of a postage stamp etched with a picture of the Holy Trinity. It eventually sold for £38,000. "We couldn't believe it," she said at the time. "We always dreamed of finding treasure."
Like Mrs Hannaby, most of us would love to discover great wealth. If only we had a treasure map to help us. Well, we do. It's called the Bible. Within its covers, is a map for the richest prize known to humanity; the means to overcome death and find eternal life. And the key to the map is Jesus. Here's what He has to say:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt 6:19-21)
Jesus tells us that the most valuable treasure is not part of this world. God is the treasure. The problem with earthly treasure is, quite simply, it doesn't last. Have you heard the old saying about money: "You can't take it with you when you die"? Well it's true! The last thing you'll think about on your death bed is your $3.9 million Lamborghini Veneno supercar.
Jesus tells us we should stop worrying about accumulating wealth in this life, and instead pursue God. Not when we feel like it. Not when we want Him to bless us. Not just at Easter and Christmas. Not when we've messed up and desperately need rescuing from our mistakes. He wants us to joyfully seek and trust Him in this life, starting right now. If we do that, our focus shifts from things that perish to a personal God who is delightfully rich in the way he relates to us. When your security is found in God, earthly worries and anxieties actually lose 'value' and importance.
Life was never meant to be about dying with the most possessions. So, put aside your old 'treasure detector' and start laying up real treasure in heaven now! Remember, Jesus is the key and the prize is eternal life with God.
Prayer:. Dear God, transform my mind and heart so that my joy and security is not in worldly possessions but in You. Amen.
