We bought a house several years ago that had a pretty significant safe built in. I’d never had a safe before. I pondered what I should put in the safe. I guessed that typically people put in their gemstones and jewelry and gold bouillon and rare coins — the kind of stuff you see spilling out of treasure chests in pirate movies.
I didn’t have any of that stuff.
I had to spend some time thinking about what my treasure was. As a photographer, I realized my photos were my treasure. And they are all stored digitally on a hard drive. Thousands and thousands of photos that I sell online. I have backups of my photo hard drive and thought it would be a good idea to put one in the safe.
Imagine the disappointment a burglar would have when breaking into our safe. A hard drive? Where are the stacks of cash and the rubies and diamond necklaces?!
Today’s verse makes me think about whether I have a safe in my heart where I keep my treasure. It would be something I protect and value and lock up and check on often. I guess that would involve memorizing and remembering my treasure.
What do I treasure in that way? Memories? Names and faces of people I have known? Things I learned or books I read or movies I watched?
Am I treasuring the right things?
If I treasure a person, I will keep photos of them around and notes they have written me. I will keep their name in my address book from phone to phone. I will stay in touch with them even if I move across the country. I will remind myself of them by looking at the photos, reading the notes, and contacting them often or getting together with them if possible.
If I don’t treasure a person, I will forget about them. I will delete their contact information from my phone. I probably won’t have any photos of them, but if I do, they will be buried at the bottom of a box in the back on my closet. One day maybe I will think, hey, that’s someone I used to know, what was their name?
Do I treasure God in my heart? Do I read His word and keep it handy and refer to it often, reminding me of who He is and what He looks like? Have I stored His word in the safe in my heart? Or is it at the bottom of a box in the back of my closet?
Dear God,
Forgive me for the ways that I do not treat you and your word like a treasure. You are my most valuable treasure in fact! Show me ways that I am crowding my safe with stupid things that aren’t valuable. Help me to clear out the wrong treasures and fill my safe with your word and your will.
CamDevo 