Invest in the Treasures That Matter

What is in your treasure chest?

Jesus said the words, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be?"

A young man was grieving the loss of his father. His father's death had come quickly. The young man found himself sorting through the belongings of his father. He was searching for something. He did not know what it was. He just needed to look through his father's stuff.

He found a wooden box. It looked like a treasure chest. He had never seen this before. He opened it.

Inside the box, he found pictures of people that he did not know. Most of the pictures were of young persons, although not all of them. There were also some strange objects which seemed to be random—a belt buckle, an old grocery list,--none of these seemed to make sense. The young man's curiosity would not rest. He wanted to know the story behind the treasures.

The young man found a name on the back of one picture. He recognized the name so he decided to search out the person and see why his father had this picture. When he got to talk to the woman, her eyes were filled with tears. "Years ago when I was in college, I got to the point where I was going to have to quit school. The finances just were not there. Your father was a friend with my dad. Your dad called me and told me to stay in school. Each month I received a check that paid my tuition and books. He did this for three years. I never really got to tell him how much he changed my life."

Then the young man found the grocery receipt. It had also a name of a man who worked with his father for years. The young man found his way to the man's house and showed him the grocery receipt. The man's eyes filled with tears when he saw the receipt. "When I was younger, I had a problem with gambling. One day I took all of my paycheck and lost it---lost it all." I went to your father to ask him for an advance in pay. He demanded that I tell him what was going on. When he heard my story, we got in his car and went to the grocery store. There he bought enough groceries for my family for a month. He told me to keep my job I had to begin to attend a gambling helps group. He changed my life." The receipt was a reminder.

Time after time, the young man traced down the story of items in the treasure chest his father had kept over all the years. He heard the same story. Stories of where his father had quietly helped those who were in need in quite ways.

Finally the young man realized what he knew about his father. His father was a compassionate man who treasured the good things in life. He was never a man of great means. But the sons discovered the treasures of life with his heart.

In a day where the launch of a new IPhone is predicted to have a great impact on our country's economics, let us dare to invest differently.

When we die, may our sons find a treasure chest that is filled with the good stuff.

Pray for me as I pray for you.