Lay up for yourselves Treasures in Heaven

(Mt 6:20)

The Lord Christ-Glory is to Him- said "Do not lay

up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for

yourselves treasures in heaven…" (Mt6:19-20).

Treasures on earth are subject to be lost,

they are not stable.

Man doesn't take it with him when departing this

world. Rather he says as Job the righteous has said

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked

shall I return there". So whatever treasures he

collects, he will depart the world with nothing. Unless

he is saving money for a specific reason as one who

saves some money for the marriage of his daughter.

He should then spend what he saved…

But anyone who says "I am saving money to

leave it to my children", he doesn't know how his

children will use the money, in virtuous deeds or will

mess around with it and sin. If they will use it in

virtue, so they are the ones who will be rewarded for

that and not himself.

So lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

because heaven is your everlasting home. Wise

is the man who prepares himself for his eternity

and lay up treasures for it…

So, how can people lay up treasures in heaven?

Firstly: by giving. The Lord said "It is more

blessed to give than to receive" (Acts20:35). And as

He will say on the day of condemnation to those who

are on His right " for I was hungry and you gave Me

food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was

naked and you clothed Me" then He says to them

about the poor " inasmuch as you did it to one of the

least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" "And

these will go into eternal life" (Mt25:35, 40, 46).

So, through giving you can lay up for

yourself treasures in heaven.

Everyone should then think: how much is his

account in heaven? How much did he give so that it

will be treasured for him in heaven?

And here I'll tell you a story: there was once a

person who was so ungenerous, who didn't like to pay

anything. A poor widow came to him asking that he

might give her something and he refused. She

insisted and again he refused. And finally because he

was pissed off as a result of her persistence, he threw

her a piece of bread which was in front of him.

On that night, this stingy man slept, and in a

night vision he saw an angel taking his soul upwards

to let it see what its destiny will be? The angel took

him to a dark room, where the man fetched its

contents and there was nothing except this piece of

bread which he threw to the widow…

The story says that this ungenerous man was very

much touched by this vision and was very much

concerned with his eternal destiny. So when he woke

up he distributed all his money on the poor so that he

might find it there in eternity after his death.

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God's counting is different from the

Mathematics which students are learning at

schools.

There is the element of the depth of giving and

not just the quantity. It is clear from the story of the

woman who paid the two mites out of her abundance,

so the Lord told her that "she has put in more than

all" (Lk21:3, 4). That is why if you pay out of your

abundance, you've got then a big treasure in heaven.

Some of the Saints were paying all what they'd got,

like St. Abraam of Fayoum. This Saint how much

would it be his treasures which are in heaven.

And like the saint who saw a poor man who hasn't

got something to put on, so he took off his clothes

and gave it to him, then he saw another poor man

who was in need, but as he hadn't have anything to

give him, he sold his bible and gave him the price. So

when this saint returned back to his cell without his

clothes and without his bible, his disciple asked him

about the matter, and the saint replied that Christ has

wore his clothes and about the bible he said: the bible

was ordering me "sell whatever you have and give to

the poor" so I gave it to them…

He who gives, God will bless what he has on

earth too.

As God said about rewarding that "open for you

the windows of heaven And pour out for you such

blessing that there will not be room enough to receive

it" (Mal3:10). Until you say enough, enough.

It is like one who throws some wheat seeds on his

land, so he harvests a quantity of wheat. As a poet

once said about money which you spend:

By means of spending it lasts and by means of

not spending it vanishes

So what you give to others is not lost, it rather

stays, here and in heaven. I once said during the

charity committee meeting: God wants unfolded

hands which give, those which He can entrusts with

helping the needy, as then He will know that those

hands will give others, so He will as well give them so

that they can give others…

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We don't mean just the financial giving, but

also the moral and psychological.

Of the treasures which are preserved for us in

heaven is every word of condolence to a distressed

person, and every word of sympathy to whoever

needs tenderness, any kind of gentleness by which

you treat any stressed soul, and all what you do to

comfort others. All these are preserved for you in

heaven…also any kind of sympathy on a crying child,

every tear you wipe away of his eyes…

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What is treasured for you also in heaven is:

the service which you offer to others.

All kinds of righteousness which you present to

others, through which you win a word of good wish

for yourself which rises up to heaven, and is

treasured for you there…and so does each blessing

which anyone one blesses you with of those whom

you offer support and relief.

The story of St. Andrew Niquos and the lion,

which this Saint pulled out a spine of the lion's foot

which was hurt. It is a clear proof of the reward for

comforting others…

This shows us that sympathy which we offer even

to animals is also treasured for us and its reward is

never lost, this goes also for the food which we offer

to an animal…

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Forgiveness also is one of the treasures

which are preserved for us in heaven.

God said "Judge not, and you shall not be judged"

(Lk6:37). And God commented on that point which

we pray in the Lord's Prayer and said "For if you

forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father

will also forgive you" (Mt6:14).

We pray "forgive us … as we forgive those who

trespass against us"

So when you forgive others, you are then

preserving a treasure of forgiveness by which God

forgives for you your trespasses…

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The same goes for judging others, the Lord

says " Judge not, and you shall not be judged "

(Lk6:37). So if you don't judge others, God will

not judge you.

There is a story of a Monk who was always

missing his prayers. The other Monks saw him happy

and smiling at the time of his death, they asked him

about the reason behind that and he replied that he

told God: as much as I could I didn't judge anyone in

my life, and I cling to your saying "Judge not and you

shall not be judged" and also to your saying "For with

the same measure that you use, it will be measured

back to you." (Lk6:38).

You too can benefit from not talking about others,

and not judging them; rather you sympathize with

whoever had fallen and pray for his mercy, thus

laying up treasures for you in heaven, and with this

same measure of sympathy it will be measured back

to you.

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Of the treasures that are preserved for you

in heaven is: the good deeds.

Every good work which you accomplish, of any

kind, is laid up for you in heaven…and here I will tell

you a story from the Paradise of Monks about a

Father who was always serving others, he used to

take his water vessel to where the water source was

and fill it up. He then fills with it the vessels of the

other fathers specially the elders…and then repeats

this good work. Then one day-while he was walkinghe

became very tired, and he felt that someone is

walking behind him with a paper on which he was

writing. So he asked him who he was and what was

he doing and he replied: I am the Angel of God whom

He sent me to count every step you make while

serving others so that God rewards you on it. The

Father then was consoled; he forgot his pain and

served even more.

There is a registry which is called "the Book of

Life" in which God writes every good deed you

accomplish. In the Book of Revelation it was

mentioned "books were opened. And another book

was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead

were judged according to their works, by the things

which were written in the books. " (Rv20:12).

And so is each sin you commit, it is counted on

you. And also every good work you do it is also

counted on you, and is laid up for you in Heaven, as

in the Book of Esther say, they brought the book of

the records of the chronicles to King Ahasuerus, and

the good deed of Mordecai was read infront of the

king, and the king rewarded him for that (Est6:1, 2).

And so will be written in the Book of Life all the

good works which you'd done so that God would

reward you for them.

The Saint with the Golden Mouth said that every

single tear you've dropped for the Lord's sake, God

will take it so that He will reward you for it before

Satan of the falsified glory takes it away from you…

God rewards you even for the cup of cold water

which you give to one of the little ones, you will by no

means lose your rewards (Mt10:42).

Even patience which you endure for God's sake,

God never forgets it. It was mentioned in the Epistle

of St. James "You have heard of the perseverance of

Job and seen the end intended by the Lord" (Jb5:11).

So if you endure any pain with patience and without

complain, God will lay it up for you in Heaven. So how

much more will it be if you endure and thank.

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Last point which I say to you about what is

laid up for you in heaven is: the good deeds

which you do in secret.

There are charity deeds which you do and you are

rewarded for it on earth: a prize or a praise…but the

good deed which you do in secret, is laid up for you

as treasures in heaven according to the Lord's saying

" your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward

you openly " (Mt6:4)…He rewards you on earth and in

heaven, at the present time and in eternity.

And so is every work which you are not paid

for on earth, it is all treasured in heaven.

This is clear in the story of the rich man and

Lazarus (Lk16). How dangerous is what our Father

Abraham said to the rich man "… in your lifetime you

received your good things" (Lk16:25).

Brother, try as much as you can not to receive

your good things on earth regarding every good work

you do, get to know that all your charitable works are

those for which you don't get a reward here, not even

a word of thanks, these are treasures for you in

heaven.