Where is your heart?

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

Jesus’ words about treasure ring especially true and relevant in this pre-Christmas season, don’t they? It is a time when we who claim to worship and follow the King of Kings, whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas Day, are often put to the test during these weeks of frenzied shopping and spending. That test is summed up in this question: Where is our treasure? As Jesus said, the answer to that question reveals where our heart is.
I once attended a church service where the pastor was teaching on this verse, and early on in his sermon he asked a lady in the front row if he could borrow her purse. She hesitated a moment before agreeing. The pastor then set her purse on the pulpit and proceeded with his teaching. Throughout the remainder of the service, we in the congregation couldn’t help but notice that the woman’s eyes never left the pulpit, even when the pastor walked around the stage as he spoke. It was a powerful illustration of his message.
And not one that didn’t speak loudly and clearly to my heart, I might add. I certainly couldn’t think ill of the woman for wanting to keep her purse in sight, as we women don’t like being separated from our purses, do we? We keep not only our checkbooks, cash, and credit cards in there, but so much else that seemingly identifies us, such as family pictures and other mementoes. But ultimately, what does that say about our hearts? Is it possible that as believers we still have a lot of growing and maturing to do when it comes to understanding our true treasures?
In the two verses preceding Jesus’ statement that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” He cautioned us against focusing on amassing temporal treasures here on earth rather than eternal ones in heaven. Then, in verse 33, He summed it up like this: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Jesus wanted us to understand that the Father knows our needs, and we can trust Him to meet them. What the Father desires from us is a heart that truly seeks Him, first and always. May we actively do so today, throughout the Christmas season, and all year long, as we add to our treasures in heaven and experience the joys of a caring and faithful Father who faithfully meets all our needs “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).