THE CHURCH’S TREASURE
Before being canonized as a
saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Lawrence was a deacon serving in Rome. When a wave of violent persecution broke out,
Pope Sixtus and others were killed. Lawrence knew it was only a matter of time
before they would come for him. As
keeper of the church’s goods, he was responsible for giving alms to the poor. At that point, he started distributing them more
generously than ever.
It wasn’t very long before Lawrence was summoned by government
officials who demanded that he surrender the church’s treasure. He replied that the church was quite rich
and requested three days to get everything in order.
When Roman officials arrived at his church, they expected it to be
filled with silver and gold. Instead, it
was packed with the poor, the blind, the lame and the lepers. “Here are the treasures of the church,”
declared Lawrence with spiritual authority.
As you might expect, the officials were furious and Lawrence was executed
in the year 258 A.D.
What a courageous and wise
man! Lawrence was absolutely right about
the treasures of the church. As the Body
of Christ, we have significance and value that transcends economics and social
standing.
It goes without saying that
the greatest treasure of the church is the
Holy Spirit. (II Corinthians 4:7)
Nevertheless, since HE dwells within and grants us the privilege of
serving as ‘divine hands and feet’ in the earth realm, we, by extension and
proximity, are true treasures indeed.
Who will you touch and
treasure today?
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