Christmas...A Time to Treasure

Have you ever seen the movie “The Nativity Story"?  I remember the first time I saw it.  We went to the theatre to see it.  I asked God to make the story a permanent mark on my heart and my kids’ hearts forever.  Did He ever!

If you haven't seen it (yet), I won't spoil it with too much detail as long as you promise to find yourself a copy before Christmas (you can borrow ours).  I could write ten pages here of my observations, but will try to stick to the most powerful.   

During the intense birth scene, I found my emotions rising.  Thoughts flooded my mind like “He came for me because He loves me.” “This was all for my sin.”  “If Jesus hadn’t been born, there would have been no hope for me.”  “What would my life look like had He not been born?”

I heard the lyrics to a favorite Christmas song loudly in my ears:

“How could heaven’s heart not break on the day, the day that you came?

Salvation’s reason to celebrate on the day, the day that you came.”

That chorus always chokes me up.

What was it like for the heavenly beings who adored Jesus and loved His company to let Him go?  Imagine heaven without Jesus there. He left for me.  And for you.

Soon the wisemen showed up.  (For my husband’s sake I must tell you the wisemen did not show up at the manger in the Biblical account , but later when Jesus was a bit older.  It was just for the movie’s purposes.)  As they reverently and humbly presented their gifts before Joseph, Mary and Jesus I watched Mary’s face and remembered Luke 2:19 and 51 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  She treasured every observation and prophecy spoken over them.  The wise men brought their “treasure” and placed it before them.  The treasure was packaged in fancy, adorned packages.

I wondered what treasure I would bring Him? The dictionary defines treasure as:  a thing of great value or worth, something collected in great quantity.  Matt. 6:21 says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  What is my treasure?  Is it God?  Family?  Friends?  Service?  Stuff?  Accomplishments?    What am I teaching my children to treasure as they navigate through the self-absorbed culture they live in?

More importantly, what does God treasure?  Ex. 19:5, Dt. 7:6 and 26:18 say His people are His treasured possession.  Over and over again in Scripture we see how important we are to God.  Not to be missed in each of those verses too is the attachment of “those who keep His commands and obey Him fully”.  Aha!   

Obedience is also what God treasures.  It is impossible to keep His commands or obey Him fully unless we know what they are and what He requires of us.  The only way to do that is to know His Word.  Another treasure!  According to Col. 2:3 “…the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  Don’t forget John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.’  Jesus is the Word. 

Let’s go back to Matt. 6:19, 20  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.”  It sure is easy to get caught up in acquiring treasures on earth during Christmas, isn’t it? 

So in order to find treasure that matters to God, we must go to His Word.  We must look at all of life through the filter of His Word, the absolute Truth, knowing that we have it simply because God loved us enough to send Jesus to us.  

 In 23:12, Job says “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.”  Oh I hope you treasure God’s Word with that hunger. 

If you are new to this concept or have let your Bible reading get far away from you, decide to make a change.  All you have to do is ask God for help.  Daniel claims in 2:22 “He reveals deep and hidden things.”  That’s what a treasure is, you know.  A deep and hidden thing worth discovering.  Not necessarily visible from the surface, yet not unable to attain, but worth the digging.  So dig in today and find the treasures God wants to reveal to you.  And ask Him to fill your heart and focus with the treasure of heaven - Jesus.  Keep your eyes open – He’s everywhere!

My prayer for me, my family and for you my friends this Christmas is that we would treasure up God’s Word in our hearts and present it back to God in the form of our obedience to Him.  Surely then God will fill our treasure chests with more and more of what really matters – Him!

The same December we saw The Nativity Story, I bought something that looks like a treasure chest.  It’s made of sticks and formed in a cool shape.  It reminded me of one Mary may  have received even though it wasn't fancy.  In the movie, the wise men brought their gifts in very ornate vessels.  After seeing the ornate vessels from the movie and knowing that God is more interested in the lowly and humble, this plain chest reminds me of the treasure God revealed to me that Christmas and every one since.  Maybe I should fill it with reminders from Christmas’s past and those yet to come.   

Yes, like the wisemen I think we should give God our very best, but I also think He’s interested in us coming just as we are.  Right now, no matter what you look like inside or out.  Come to Him because He came for you.