Today’s missive is a bit of a departure from the norm, but was hastily assembled in response to a question from a friend. This dear, young friend of mine recently asked the following intriguing question on Facebook: ”What is a “treasure in heaven”, and how do you “store them up”?”. His question was based on Matthew 6:20 which reads: “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. “ Matthew 6:19-21
The treasure spoken of here is, in the Greek, the word, thesauros (thay-sow-ros’); which means: treasure, a deposit, i.e. wealth (literally or figuratively). It is from the root word, tithemi (tith’-ay-mee); which means : to advise, appoint, bow, commit, conceive, give, kneel down, lay (aside, down, up), make, ordain, purpose, put, set (forth), settle, sink down.
This same word is used 15 times in the New Testament, and specifically in Matthew 12:35; 13:44,52; 19:21. It sounds and looks much like our English word, thesaurus, which means, “A book, or treasure of selected words”.
How do we store up these treasures in heaven?
Jesus answers that question in the following passages:
“Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 19:21
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34
Does it sound like a divine reward system? I believe that is exactly what it is. Jesus has quite a bit to say about reward; for instance:
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “ Mathew 5:11-12
From this passage I believe that we can deduce that we are storing up treasure, or reward in heaven if we patiently bear up under persecution.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Matt 5:43-47
From this passage, I believe that we can deduce that we store up treasure when we love our enemies. By the way, don’t waste valuable time and soul energy trying to figure out who your enemies are. Just devote all of that energy loving everyone and you will do just fine.
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Matthew 6:1-4 (Read 6:2-18)
Again, we can deduce that a treasure, or reward, is being stored up for us when we give generously, in secret, not for the praise of men.
“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:40-42
If we receive our brethren with a pure and open heart, we store up treasure. When we give even a cup of cold water to one of God’s children, God takes note of even so seemingly small an act of kindness.
The Greek word for reward, misthos (mis-thos’; hire, reward, wages) is used a total of 29 times in scripture, too numerous to comment on each one, but hopefully you have a few things to start with on your quest to store up treasure in heaven. Endeavor to please God, and trust that, like any loving parent, He is taking note, and will recompense you appropriately. However, never forget that the greatest reward we could ever receive is the joy that comes with obedience. By the way, and I know you already know this, but to avoid confusion I will state the obvious; our salvation is not a reward, but is the free gift of grace: Jesus paid a price He did not owe, so that we could be free from a debt we could not pay!
Will You receive rewards?
That depends primarily on you. The book of Revelation alone speaks of eight different rewards for those who overcome (nikao – conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory).
1 Cor. 3:8 tells us, “ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”
1 Cor 3:14 – goes on to say, “ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. “
Col 3:22-25 – “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.”
Heb 10:35-36 – “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
Rev 11:18-19 – “The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Can I lose rewards?
In the same way that we can gain reward, the Word of God seems to indicate that we can lose reward. Note:
Matt. 10:42 and Mark 9:41 – “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
Col 2:18-19 – “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by join
ts and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”
1 Cor 3:15 – “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
2 John 7-8 – “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.”
Heb 10:35-36 – “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
When do we get our rewards?
Your rewards will be apportioned to you whenever you need them. The fact that they being stored up in heaven does not necessarily mean that they are being kept until we reach our eternal destination. They are simply being kept in God’s storehouse, to be given to us in the appointed time.
I do not believe that there will be a reward system at work in the New Heaven spoken of in Revelation 21, but I am certainly open to correction on the matter. HOWEVER, I do believe that the scriptures clearly indicate that we will be rewarded in the millennial kingdom, that 1000 year period of time that will transpire on the earth just prior to the New Heavens and New Earth descending down out of heaven.
Jesus Himself said about that time in Rev 22:12-13 – “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
What will my rewards look like?
Your rewards will not only come just when you need them, they will take whatever form your loving, Heavenly Father knows they need to take. Count on this, they will be awesome!
Here are just a few examples from scripture of what our rewards might look like:
“What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.” 1 Cor 9:18
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! for indeed your reward is
great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. “ Luke 6:20-23
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” II Cor 4:16-18
Not the type of treasure you were hoping for? Too hard to come by? A little too much suffering involved in the treasure hunt? Too high a price to pay for something so intangible? We’re in a race, brethren, and we are in it to win. I can’t speak for any of you, but I don’t plan on sharing my prize or any of my rewards with any of you. Sound selfish? Oh well!
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”
1 Cor 9:24
And so. let’s run with all diligence the race set before us, remembering all the while that there is really only one treasure that matters – that of knowing Christ Jesus.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:12-14
While this is by no means an exhaustive study of “Treasures” and “How we store them up”, I pray that it will serve to at least shed a little light on the subject for my dear friend Rob, and any others who have cared enough to stay tuned this far.
Many Blessings
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