Treasures in Heaven
"Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…" (Matt. 6:20). Lately, I’ve been considering just how it is we lay up treasures in heaven. My conclusion: we store up treasures in heaven by investing the wealth of money, time and ability in a way that changes the makeup of eternity.
This week, heaven received a great treasure in Bill Hess. Bill, who has struggled with an aggressive cancer for the past six months, received a more perfect healing this week when he passed away in his bed at Riverside Hospital.
Having been around death a lot in my brief ministry, I’ve come to see that once the struggle against disease is let go, death for a believer becomes quite a beautiful thing. This was certainly the case with Bill. Last Sunday, members of our choir gathered around his bed to sing. This came on the heels of a day when Bill, fully alert, was able to spend some deeply meaningful time with his wife Lynnette. Though after that he regressed quickly, the day before Bill passed, he was off his pain medications long enough to mouth “I love you” to the people around him and to turn the corner of his mouth just enough to indicate a smile.
He was a man prepared to see God face to face.
I can’t help but be proud of how Bill’s Bible study class and a host of others have surrounded Bill and Lynnette over the past year. I can’t help but think of how differently these last months would have been had his Christian friends, Jim and Diane Wood, not extended an invitation for Bill and Lynnette to attend our church's Christmas concert. I can’t help but wonder how different eternity would be had faithful Christians long ago not invested time, money, and ability in the life of a young man and led him to a relationship with God.
Bill was certainly a treasure on earth. Thank God we could all be a part of making Bill a treasure in heaven.
This week, heaven received a great treasure in Bill Hess. Bill, who has struggled with an aggressive cancer for the past six months, received a more perfect healing this week when he passed away in his bed at Riverside Hospital.
Having been around death a lot in my brief ministry, I’ve come to see that once the struggle against disease is let go, death for a believer becomes quite a beautiful thing. This was certainly the case with Bill. Last Sunday, members of our choir gathered around his bed to sing. This came on the heels of a day when Bill, fully alert, was able to spend some deeply meaningful time with his wife Lynnette. Though after that he regressed quickly, the day before Bill passed, he was off his pain medications long enough to mouth “I love you” to the people around him and to turn the corner of his mouth just enough to indicate a smile.
He was a man prepared to see God face to face.
I can’t help but be proud of how Bill’s Bible study class and a host of others have surrounded Bill and Lynnette over the past year. I can’t help but think of how differently these last months would have been had his Christian friends, Jim and Diane Wood, not extended an invitation for Bill and Lynnette to attend our church's Christmas concert. I can’t help but wonder how different eternity would be had faithful Christians long ago not invested time, money, and ability in the life of a young man and led him to a relationship with God.
Bill was certainly a treasure on earth. Thank God we could all be a part of making Bill a treasure in heaven.
posted by RevDave at 9:36 AM
1 Comments:
Have you read "The Life God Rewards" series ?
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