What do you treasure in this life? It's amazing what some folks hold as their "Most Treasured" things. A few nights ago we were given a treasure, something we will treasure always; it consisted of 4 little pieces of plastic and love.

We are in the midst of what I like to call our "Farewell Tour". As we are preparing to move to California, we are visiting with several churches with which we have worked in the past, just to say goodbye. One of those churches is the Livonia church of Christ in Livonia, Michigan. This church oversaw our work in Kenya, while we were missionaries in that country.

Hayward Burton (one of the Elders) and his wife Sandra have been like family to us. Hayward not over personally oversaw our work, but he and Sandra took us into their hearts and lives and made several personal visits to Kenya through the years.

Hayward is an avid (and very professional) photographer. He documented each of their trips and the work being done by the mission teams there. We have always been impressed with his photographs, but he recently undertook another project that took about 6 months to complete. He, working with a professional, produced 4 DVDs documenting the work in Kenya.

When we visited last week we and Larry and Diana Stephens (also missionaries to Kenya sponsored by the Livonia church) were treated to a private showing of those DVDs. To say the least we were impressed, but we were overwhelmed when they presented each of our families with a set of the DVDs.

Those little pieces of round plastic will probably not have the impact on some folks which they had upon us. We treasure them, but not just for the plastic or even the pictures. We treasure them, because we know they are a labor of love, bestowed upon us.

I know you are familiar with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NIV)

But the following perhaps is a passage which is just as important, but one not used quite so often, notice the message there: "We don't go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us. For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure, this light and power that now shine within us, is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own." (2 Corinthians 4:5-7, NLT)

We will treasure those DVDs always, but what we treasure more is the messages of salvation and light and power which come from God to those who believe. That is the treasure we lay up in our hearts to take home with us when we die! That is the message that the world is missing when it seeks material treasurer.

Russ Lawson

Messages from the Heart is sent several times each week written by Russ Lawson.

Books by Russ Lawson

Sponsored by: World Christian Literature Outreach:

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