Words of Life: An Enduring Legacyনমুনা

A gold mine.

George and Hetty’s property was next to the only entrance and exit to the largest coach park in the seaside town. George, with an eye for business, opened a small tea bar. It was an immediate success. So, he extended his kiosk and sold beachballs and buckets and spades. Day-trippers purchased them as they streamed down to the beach.

Then George bought three garages and converted them into a café specialising in anything with chips, followed by apple pie and ice cream. The hotter the day, the greater the demand for chips. George and Hetty were working hard but sitting on a gold mine!

Then late one night while baking pies, Hetty felt a pain and was dead before she reached hospital. George, devastated beyond belief, sold the business and struggled for years with the feeling that he had killed her. If he had only known before what he knew later…

Life is full of consequences of decisions made when we had no idea of the ultimate outcome. What in hindsight would we do, or not do, again? What price do we put on the intangibles – real friendship, peace of mind, clear conscience, inner health and good memories? What is worth exchanging for life? And what price do we put on the spiritual life to come?

Jesus wants, and is able, to give us abundant life that is not dependent on accumulating things or money, but on his love and outlook. In our reading for today, we presume that Jesus is talking about the things we value most. They become our ‘treasure’, whether we realise it or not. They become the focus of our energy and our overriding ambition.

Jesus contrasted the ‘treasure’ of material things with ‘treasuring’ God and his values. Why invest in things that we will leave behind? The important thing is to invest in eternity, and we do that by loving God and loving people.