Home is where the heart is

"For the grim years where removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair; and he spoke words in the elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see. Arwen vanilmelda namarië! he said, and then he drew a breath, and returning out of his thought he looked at Frodo and smiled.

'Here is the heart of elvendom on earth,' he said. 'and here my heart dwells ever, unless there be a light beyond the dark roads that we still must tread, you and I...'" The Lord of the Rings

The tail-end of Matthew six seems very appropriate for an era of 'credit-crunch'.

Do not store treasure on earth where insects and decay destroy or thieves may rob you. Where banks may fail or stocks may lose value in market crashes. Instead store treasure in heaven where these things do not happen. For where your treasure is will be where your heart dwells also. [My paraphrase]

In The Lord of the Rings Aragorn's heart is with the elves - and with one elf in particular. It is their nobility and the hope of what may yet be which spurs him on to achieve the daunting task ahead of him. In completing his quest, coming into the kingship and gaining the hand of Lady Arwen he gains all the other things as well. So it is in scripture.

At the end of Matthew six Jesus concludes his treatise on where our treasure lies with these words. "But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these other things will be added to you as well". This is not prosperity gospel. Jesus is not saying that we will be rich beyond dreams on earth. He himself was not a rich man. His followers did not come in to riches on his departure. But it is a promise of basic provision. Needs will be met. It seems to me, the kingdom of God is about letting go our grasp on the material to gain a greater treasure.