“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34
Jesus’ words as recorded by Luke this morning call us to be ‘prepared’, always ready to meet our God face to face or in the face of his Creation. The writers of Genesis and Hebrews also do the same, they too tell to be prepared for what God might do for us, even and perhaps especially when we least expect it. God is good at talking us by surprise as the late Fr.Gerard Hughes said in his book; ‘God of surprises’ . When we had perhaps given up hope for something to happen or to change, they suddenly do - an unexpected blessing.
Abram and Sarah, longed for a child and had given up hope but God more than surprised them, especially at the ages they were. Mind you I’m not sure I would want to be a parent in my 80’s or 90’s! But that was Sarah and Abram’s hope.
I think in light of today’s readings that ‘hope’ could also be interpreted as ‘treasure’. The hope of a child was the treasure they longed for. They did not seek riches or wealth our conventional idea of ‘treasure’ they sought something which was beyond price or value to themselves, a child.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Luke’s phrase, I think, can also be read the other way round:
‘Where your heart is, there will be your treasure.’
The question before each of us this morning is:
“Where is your heart?”
What do you see as your treasure? I would suspect that for most of us our treasure or treasures will be the ones we love the most. We might appreciate the material things we have or the passions we enjoy but its is probably those we love whom we would count as our greatest treasures. If this is the case I suspect we make God smile.
We have to acknowledge, though, that some people will not have loved ones at the centre of their lives. For some material gain, power or status can be their over-riding treasure. That I think makes God sad or perhaps despair. I sometimes wonder if God ever thinks that despite the sacrifice his Son made for us there are some among us who can still see nothing but their own wants. I often have a vision of God banging his head over the things we humans do and wondering quite how we can be the most caring and self-sacrificing of creatures and the most awful and self-obsessed!
As Christians, we need to regularly challenge ourselves as to where our hearts truly lie. What is really our treasure in the depths of our being? Is there anything we might need to change? Is there anything we can do better and is our treasure something we can share? If our treasure is built around ‘love’ then it is something we can definitely share for love is not a finite thing. There is always more than enough to go round; just think of the love you have for your loved ones you don’t love to a percentage you just love and love and love. Just as God does with us, even when he might despair of us! We are still God’s treasure and that’s where his heart will always be.