“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20-21

Let me tell you of a lady whose treasure became trash. This lady, an amateur “antiquer,” found a beautiful old piano. Built in 1901, it was mahogany with stunning carvings across the front. She bought the treasure and took it home to be tuned. A few moments of work had the specialist explaining that the piano had been “doped.” The wood holding the tuning pegs had dried out and wouldn’t keep the strings taught. Someone had doped the insides of the instrument with antifreeze and water. The expert concluded, “Sometimes doping a piano will add years of life. In the case of your piano, doping destroyed it.” The livid lady had the piano hauled out to the curb with a sign: Free—500 pounds of firewood.

Over the years, I’ve seen that same sort of thing happen to a great many people. The things they trust the most often prove to be tarnished and trashed, which leads me to ask, “Is your treasure rusty?” Is it possible your security is your home? Still, homes can be flawed, and this year too many children have been stolen from the security of their own homes. Maybe your security is wealth. Too many of us have lost a great deal in the roller-coaster ride of the stock market. Possibly, your security is your job. Like me, you probably have a lot of friends hitting the streets because their jobs disappeared.

All too often, our temporal treasures, seemingly valuable and lasting, are in actuality cheap and temporary. They fail to deliver on their boasts and promises of happiness. Let me suggest that the treasure all of us should want is one that will never get rusty, one that will never turn to ashes. Our true treasure should be something that isn’t going to be devalued, diminished, or reduced. Our true treasure is something we can trust and treasure for time and through eternity. Quite frankly, I know of only one such treasure: the sinless Son of God.

Born in Bethlehem, over 2000 years ago, every moment of His life was lived for the express purpose of saving you. Over the centuries He has shown that when He makes a promise, He keeps it. If He says He will be with us in difficult times, we can be sure He will be there. If He commits Himself to hearing and helping us, we can be positive His promise will be kept. Truly He is our one great treasure, which will never rust or tarnish.

Excerpt from The Lutheran Hour sermon preached on March 9, 2003

Today's Bible Readings: Job 30-31    Matthew 13:31-58

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