What is our treasure in heaven?

Having recently submitted the post on Map the Bible about how the Kingdom of heaven is compared in scripture to great treasure (Click here to read it), I wanted to take that idea a little further, here.

The word treasure, in the worldly sense, conjures images of pirates and sunken ships. I think of things that have been stolen and hidden. Who knows how many heinous crimes have been committed in the name of Wealth? Money is power. Gold and diamonds have an alluring beauty. Many have killed or died for want of a beautiful jewel...but I think our appreciation for jewelry originates from somewhere even deeper than selfish gain.

Biblically, treasure is not usually a reference to ill-gotten gain, but to something of great value. Without condoning materialism, God must at least empathize with the value we place on precious metals and jewels, because He uses them throughout scripture as a basis for comparison, to illustrate and define what is important to Him. So, what does Jesus really mean when He says, "You will have treasure in heaven" (Matthew 19:21, ESV)?

According to Revelation chapter 21, the city we'll live in--the place we call heaven--the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God--is a gigantic piece of jewelry spanning a square that would reach from Florida to Michigan, and from Kansas to the Atlantic Ocean. Add nearly 1400 miles straight up, to form a perfect cube. Gold, precious stones and pearls for miles and miles and miles. Unfathomable riches. Take a moment to read the passage for yourself. You can use this handy link, if you'd like.  (Handy link)

Can you even begin to imagine such an elaborately designed city wall? I know, I know. How un-spiritual of me. What heaven is made of isn't what it's really all about. Shouldn't we content ourselves with the hope of an ethereal state of ultimate peace and joy? Isn't that all heaven really is? I mean, we're just going to be spirit beings there, right? Like ghosts or something?

I don't think so. For one thing, we'll be there after we're resurrected bodily (based on Rev. 20:4-5,11-13). I don't want to belabor this point, but if God made the universe out of nothing, and formed Adam from the dust of the ground, I'm sure He'll have no trouble reassembling our bodies. What Revelation 21 tells me is that heaven is a real place where the purest gold will be so abundant and of so little consequence, we'll be thoughtlessly walking all over it. Jesus will be the main attraction in heaven, undoubtedly the only reason we're even there, and I do not mean to diminish that. But I'd like us to consider for a moment the fact that God created us; He wired us to appreciate beauty, and even to respond to it physiologically. Could our temporal fascination with shiny rocks be based on a knowledge we have, on some higher level, of the spectacular light of God we'll see shining through the jewels of heaven? Could this be the treasure in heaven Jesus wants us to strive for? Or could there be even more inside the city walls: rewards for our faithfulness furnishing the dwellings which Jesus is preparing for us, a la John 14:2 ("In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." -NKJV)?

I think it's fitting to share part of a dream I had about a year ago. I entered a huge house, looking for some item I can't remember now, maybe it was just a short-cut. (I'm inclined to look for the easy way out- Can we call it an appreciation for efficiency?) Anyway, as I wandered through the halls, I saw rooms that were unbelievably ornate, but they were closed off by glass, as though showcased in a museum. One room in particular was furnished with plum colored velvet (I love this color) and elaborately carved, rich, warm wood, and I was impressed with the beauty of it, but I sensed that even though it seemed to be made for me, it was being withheld from me by the glass. As I made my way through the house, passing a rather garish chandelier, I began to sense that I had entered this place through the back door, and so now I was looking for the front door; and I expected it to be at least as magnificent as the furniture I had just seen. Instead, it was a brushed steel, industrial-style swinging kitchen door. While there was more to the dream, I awoke with the unmistakable feeling that I had just had a glimpse of treasure in heaven that wouldn't be mine because of a very bad decision I had made, and that it was going to take an attitude of servant-hood to get me where I want to go - hence, the kitchen door.

Our entrance into heaven is based solely on the completed work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. It is our relationship with Christ that determines where we spend eternity. But it is our works that determine our rewards when we get there. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (ESV) says:

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

This is both comforting and terrifying. I have full assurance of my salvation, and I praise the Lord for His great mercy to me, but how much of my life is going to go up in flames? Only the gold, silver and precious stones will remain. Only what I have invested in God's kingdom will be there for me when I get there. What will I have to show for my time here? How much treasure will I have in heaven? And will I have to wash dishes when I get there?

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Where is my treasure? Is my heart in the right place?