What picture comes to mind for you? The default image that I equate with the word treasure is an old chest filled with gold coins (with pictures of pirates not far behind, of course). Maybe you think of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (with pictures of leprechauns not far behind, of course). Those of us who grew up with Scrooge McDuck cartoons probably have the image of him swimming through his pool of money in his bank vault. I think associating these types of pictures with the word treasure is pretty common… but I’m not sure they’re really that helpful as we consider Jesus’ words from Luke 12. That’s because “treasure” as Jesus is teaching about it here is not at all limited to money or gold coins.
What does it mean to treasure something? Jesus provides for us a pretty good understanding of what it means. We can find it out by connecting the dots if we take note of where the word heart shows up in his teaching in these verses.
The most familiar verse of this section is the last one, verse 34: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” But don’t miss his other use of the word heart. Look again at verse 29: “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.” Can we replace the phrase “set your heart on” with the word “treasure”? So then, we could summarize what Jesus is saying this way: “Do not treasure what you will eat or drink. Whatever you treasure, that is what has your heart.” So I treasure what my heart is set on. Whatever receives my attention, my focus, my time, my energy – that is what I treasure.
Another way to think about it? Treasure as Jesus defines it is really a matter of our personal values and priorities. With that understanding, we see that treasure can refer to just about anything under the sun. To what – or whom – do I attach the most value or worth? What is my greatest priority? The answer to those questions reveals where your treasure is. And, by extension, your heart.
Jesus highlighted two examples of what can fall into that category: food and clothing. “Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes’” (Luke 12:22-23). In these two examples, Jesus also reveals a simple indicator that will help us identify where our treasure is: worry.
In fact, we might be more used to this section of Jesus’ teaching being used to address our preoccupation with worry. These verses are very often referenced as much-needed reminders to us that worry is a waste of time because God will provide for all of our needs. That is absolutely true, and will always serve as an important takeaway from this teaching. But if we pull back the curtains on “worry” a little bit more, the connection between worry and treasure becomes even more clear.
What, after all, do you worry about? Do you stay up at night worrying if your neighbor’s landscaper will do a good job on his yard? Do you fret about the grocery store receiving its deliveries on time? Have you been beside yourself wondering about the new server hired at the local restaurant who seemed to be a bit behind in his training the last time you ate there? Are any of those things unimportant? No! Someone thinks that every one of those things is important.
But not you. Why? Because you don’t attach much value or worth to them. Because they aren’t priorities for you.
But you worry about your children. You worry about work. You worry about making ends meet financially. You worry about your health.
Why do you worry about such things? Because you attach value or worth to them. Because they are priorities for you. Because you treasure them. So if you’re struggling to get to the bottom of what you really treasure in life, ask yourself what you frequently worry about, and you’ll get closer and closer on your own personal treasure map to where X marks the spot for you.
But worry does more than just reveal where our misplaced treasures are; it also reveals a pretty embarrassing faith. After pointing out how God masterfully cares for nature in ways that never even cross our minds, Jesus arrives at a very pointed and convicting conclusion about us when we worry: we are “of little faith!” (v.28).
Ouch. Worry isn’t just a normal part of life. Worry isn’t just a harmless fixation on worst-case scenarios. Worry in any measure is a lack of faith. It is more a reflection of being a child of unbelief than it is a child of God.
Think of it – faith itself is a gift of God, something undeserved, something we do nothing to receive, yet we even dishonor and dismiss God with that very gift when we worry. And, when allowed to continue unchecked and even to multiply, worry can result on unbelief. Jesus illustrated this with his parable of the sower and the seed when some of the seed was choked out by life’s worries.
So if there’s on thing we ought to worry about in life, we ought to worry about unchecked worry in our lives – it can lead to devastating results! Yet, while our own worry will help us identify what we treasure, and sadly, how lacking our faith is, we need more than that. A scolding and a slap on the wrist not just won’t cut it.
So here is something you’ll never need to worry about: how much God treasures you. Jesus may not have made a big, splashy statement to that effect in his teaching here in these verses, but that’s because it’s woven consistently throughout them. It’s a given. It’s the norm. It’s unquestionable and unchanging: God treasures you!
See how Jesus made that known when he used illustrations from nature about how God provides for the birds. “And how much more valuable you are than birds!” (v.24b). And, what’s more, God wasn’t reluctant or hesitant to call us into his kingdom and entrust it to us, but note how the Good Shepherd speaks tenderly to his sheep: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (v.32).
Look also at Jesus’ own words about hearts and treasure once again. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v.34). If one’s heart is where there treasure is, then find all the validation and worth you could even need in the beauty of Christ’s incarnation.
God took on human flesh and bones. Why? Not just because he wanted to experience what it would be like. Not just so he could say, “been there, done that.” No, he became man to live with man, to dwell with man, to rescue and save man. His heart – quite literally, along with the rest of his physical body – arrived on this earth so that it could be where his treasure was: mankind. You. Me. All people.
No degree of worry you could ever express, no amount of treasuring the wrong things in your life, could ever forfeit or cancel out how much God treasures you in Christ. He literally brought his heart to live and dwell and be with the human beings he treasured so much!
What on earth could ever provide you with that measure of being valued or loved? Who on earth could ever treasure you that much? No one. Not even close. And if we are treasured that much by God, then he alone is worthy of having our hearts in return. Yes, we need the Jesus who treasures us beyond our comprehension to properly direct our hearts to what he would have us treasure. And he does just that.
Jesus directs us to, “seek his kingdom” (v.31), and maybe we do well to bring Matthew’s emphasis into it, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” (6:33). What is Jesus telling us to do? Treasure his kingdom. Attach your value and worth to that. Make that your priority.
The added bonus? There’s no worry attached to that treasure, because it’s guaranteed and never runs out. And it’s always at work. If you treasure your daily bread, which is silly because the Lord promises to provide it, you will always be plagued by worry. That’s the nature of treasuring the stuff of the world. You’ll keep worrying about it. Always. You won’t ever escape some degree of worry, and worst-case scenario, it can even choke out your faith. So seek his kingdom instead.
Eli Stanley Jones did just that with his life. The American missionary, known for his extensive mission work in India, suffered a stroke at the age of 88, which left him significantly impaired. Nevertheless, even though he was limited in sight, hearing, speech, and movement, he was able to dictate into a tape recorder his final book, called The Divine Yes.
It was in that book that he used a mountain climbing rope to illustrate his personal situation. Rope that is used for mountain climbing has incredibly strong strands in its center. So even as the outer layers of the rope rub and fray against the rock, the rope is still able to hold the climber because of its strong center. E. Stanley Jones said that to him, Christ represented that center strand. Even as his stroke damaged the outer strands of his life, his center, his heart, where Christ was, held strong.
He wrote, “Many of the strands of my life have been broken by this stroke, for I can no longer preach and I cannot write as my eyesight is so poor that I cannot see my own writing. I can only dictate into a tape recorder. The things that were dear to me, for the time being, are broken. The innermost strands belonging to the Kingdom and the Person of Jesus and my experience of him holds me as much as the total rope, for the innermost strands are the strongest. I need no outer props to hold up my faith, for my faith holds me” (E. Stanley Jones, The Divine Yes [Nashville: Abingdon, 1975], 64).
Maybe that should be our picture that comes to mind when we think about the word treasure as Jesus teaches it: mountain climbing rope. And we don’t even have to be world-renowned evangelists for it to apply. We simply treasure Jesus and his kingdom above all else. We pursue the gospel and everything about its work in our lives and in the lives of others, and we won’t ever be let down. He will hold us fast. His treasure alone will truly satisfy our hearts.