A change community

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. (Matthew 6:21)

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. (Thornton Wilder)

A treasure is more than a box of gold bullion or precious jewels. It is anything and everything we come to value in life. It could be material, such as a good working vehicle, or immaterial such as the joy that comes while spending time with someone you care about deeply. Jesus reminds us to examine where our treasures lie - what it is we have come to value, dedicate time, and perhaps even give our all to. 

The desires of one's heart tell a great deal about what one has 'laid up' as treasures in this lifetime. It could be the newest and greatest of this luxury item, or it could be that those things matter very little because how another is fed, clothed, or cared for matters more than those 'luxuries'. We place a 'value' on everything around us - it could just be that we have come to 'value' some things that truthfully will be of absolutely no value when we stand before God one day.

Our identity IN CHRIST is something we should value more than anything else. Our true treasure is in knowing him, serving him, being 'on mission' with him. Jesus always thought about the masses even when he was taking care of the one person in the midst of those masses. He met their need for nourishment just as quickly as he met their need for physical, emotional, or relational health. He didn't just heal the body - the touched the spirit, soul, and mind of those he lived in 'community' with. 

Our community may not be the same as his, but it contains a great many whose lives could be different just because we bring Jesus into that community. If we abide in him and he abides in us, wherever we go, we bring Jesus into that place. Where he is, lives can change. Where he is, hope can spring up. Where he is, all things can be made new. Bring Jesus, your greatest treasure, into the lives of those you meet each day, and you will have shared the thing that can affect that community the most. Just sayin!