Treasure

Craig Ross

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

I came across it while digging for something else in my desk at home.  I was searching for a key that I thought was buried in a small container in the desk drawer which serves as a repository for all sorts of small trinkets.  Most seemed important at the time I interred them in this mini-graveyard of random junk.  But within weeks I have typically forgotten they are there, and the rare moments that draw me to this particular drawer and this particular cup of stuff, almost always draw from me the observation that I literally speak out loud, “So that’s where I put you!”  History repeated itself this past Saturday, for I found this small metal shoe in my mini-graveyard … the shoe whose picture accompanies this devotion.  Maybe you have one, too.  If you are still in possession of an old Monopoly game circa 1965, you will recognize it immediately.  “The Shoe” was always the piece I coveted when I played.  I believe it possessed good luck.  It gave me pleasure to “walk” it around the board.  And at the moment it is sitting on top of my computer monitor, just so I can look at it for a couple of days again.

Earthly treasures … we all have our them.  Some of my favorites are pictures of my kids, my books (even those I don’t read — I love just being in the presence of books), and coffee mugs from different places.  I don’t think any of them do me any real harm.  Certainly, none become a source of my breaking of the second commandment prohibition about idol-worship.  But do they lead me to God, or become a source of expression for my adoration and devotion?  The pictures of my kids and grandson certainly do, as I never tire of the marvelous creative power of God at work in our progeny.  The books do occasionally I must admit, although since a fair number of them are fantasy and horror related, they aren’t all spiritually edifying, that’s for sure.  The coffee mugs . . . well . . . . I do have a Lutheran Social Service mug, does that count?  What about your treasures?  Do they edify or distract?

In your prayer life this week, ponder those things that would fit the description of “earthly treasures” in your life (if you dare).  What role do they play in your spiritual health, if any?  If they are neutral or destructive at best, are there ways you could use them in service to your faith walk?  If you had to compare your loyalty to earthly treasures with your loyalty to heavenly treasures, how would that exercise make you feel?  Our world suggests to us that most treasures are shiny … and expensive … and drive really fast.  God reminds us that our treasures arrive in our lives through service to others … through the recognition of God in the person standing next to you … is the smile of a child or the grin of a nonagenarian … in the healing touch of Jesus in your life.  And ponder also the presence of godly treasures in your life, too.

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Rev. Craig Ross

Senior Pastor

The vibrancy of life here at St. Peter’s makes my service on our staff a joy and privilege. Visitation, teaching and preaching are the ministries that feed my pastoral identity, as together our staff and lay members share in our missional calling … Building a community of faith by God’s grace.

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