"Thought for the Day" 12/5/11

Sometimes you read about very interesting people in the obituary section in the newspaper. A while ago there was a lovely piece about a couple who passed away in their late 80s. They were described as 'hunters and gatherers of the first order'. The article said they had at least 2 of everything: one that was really required, one in case the other one broke and occasionally another because it was on special and would be wrong not to buy it! When the wife died she had about 100kg of wool and 50,000 buttons all neatly put away in old toffee, chocolate and biscuit tins. It's better if a hoarder marries a non-hoarder, but in this case they were two peas in a pod. The husband had a shed full of neatly categorised bolts, screws, nuts, nails, washers, wires, rivets, cables, glue and string. He was from a generation of men who fixed things.
Now as a self professing "keeper" of useful things (I am not a hoarder. . .  really) I can understand this couple's fetish for keeping 'useful' things. I couldn't help but think though about how useless most of these things were for this couple in the end. It made me think of the verse in Matthew 6:19-20.
"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."
So what is going to last? Well in the end, the only thing that will mean anything to us beyond our last earthly breath is our relationship with God. There is no point ignoring God and treasuring the things this world has to offer. Those things won't last. I am so thankful for God's Grace to me. That He loves me and forgives me, calls me His child and will care for me for Eternity. Ahhh...  the greatest treasure I can ever imagine.