Are you harboring the gifts of God

What treasure are you harboring within your heart?

We all seem to hold onto something that becomes most dear to us, even to the point of offering our soul to keep it.  There have been leaders of nations who would not compromise in order to avoid war.  Anything that interferes with their treasure becomes a rampart to fight for the security of the same.

Jesus said, “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.  He asked himself, what shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?  And he said, This is what I shall do:  I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.  There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself now as for you, you shall have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, and be merry!  But God said to him, You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?  Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”  (Lk. 12: 16 - 21).

To those who do not have the wealth of the world’s goods believe this teaching does not apply to them.  However, to the one whom the gift of knowledge is given and becomes selfish by not sharing with the unlearned is just as guilty.  Look at the opera singer who could share this melodious voice by refusing for some personal reason might have to answer why.  And, any person endowed with wisdom, the one present when God created everything, will be held in contempt by holding on to the grace given by God to be shared with the world is also guilty.  

These attributes may not appear to be a requirement to share with others.  But, a treasure is a gift to be given to the least among us so they can hand it on to others lesser than them.  The Kingdom of God is among you Jesus told the crowds.  It must be shared even to the point of death if needed.   Every martyr gave their all so others may live as saints for God.  

“The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, Look, here it is, or There it is.  For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”  (Lk. 17: 20 21.)    

From all of the parables Jesus gave us the message was the same; He came that we would believe in the forgiveness of the Father and give it away for the least among us.  Jesus was the sacrificial lamb that died for all of us sinners in order to find the kingdom of God.  The meaning of his preaching must be absorbed into our minds to understand how important we are in his Father’s eyes.   Treasures we hold onto are an obscenity before God.  Giving them away pleases God and is a grace not earned, but accepted by us.  

Ralph B. Hathaway