Treasure In Heaven

James 1.17 tells us: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV)

About 22 years ago our good and perfect gift came to us as a little boy. A wiggly, squirmy, mischievous, three and a half year old boy that we were adopting from India arrived in our arms at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International airport. We felt that he was our gift from heaven and that he perfectly completed our family as he became our son and our three daughter’s little brother.Benjamin joined right in and quickly became a part of our family, even though initially he spoke only the Indian language Marathi. Every night our family would gather together at bedtime and read a Bible story and then everyone would pray. First Mom, then the kids from oldest to youngest and then I would close. Benjamin watched us and after his five year old sister prayed, “Thank you, Jesus, for today. Amen,” Benjamin bowed his head and folded his hands and began praying.He was speaking Marathi we think, but we couldn’t really tell and it sounded like a prayer. Then Ben finished, looked up at us with one of his big smiles and said, “Aaa-men!” Later on, five year old Benjamin was sitting on my lap when the guest speaker walked up to preach in the church we were attending at that time. He was a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman wearing his red tunic, blue pants with a gold stripe and a wide brimmed hat and black polished boots. Benjamin sat up and seemed to listen intently to this man preach.

The Mountie gave an invitation to come forward at the end of his sermon and Benjamin said he wanted to go up there and see the man. We were perplexed but he was insistent. I tried to figure out if Ben wanted to go forward to ask Jesus into his heart, or to just meet the Mountie in his colorful uniform. We weren’t sure but after the service was over we took Benjamin to the front to meet the Mountie. He was very kind and shook Benjamin’s hand and talked to him about how important the Bible was and gave him a little Bible story book that Ben loved to carry around.

Ben always loved Bible verses, reading the Bible and listening to our Bible stories at night. But he had a hard time sitting still in church. When the kids got older I often asked them questions about sermons on the way home from church. I thought this was a good way to make sure they were paying attention. It wasn’t long before Ben joined in answering the questions and his sisters were sometimes annoyed that he knew the answers and they didn’t. Benjamin told his mother when he was about ten years old that he wanted to be baptized. Together we discussed with him just what baptism meant and what it was all about and he said he was ready. We didn’t have a church home right then, having just moved to Missouri so we talked it over and my Dad, Benjamin’s grandfather offered to baptize Ben at his church. On a family trip to Arkansas the highlight was Benjamin’s baptism and he was very proud to have been baptized by his Grandpa. And Grandpa was very proud to have baptized his grandson. As he grew older he struggled more and more with life and came to me for a talk as a teenager. He said, “Dad, I just don’t get it. How can God love someone like me?” We talked over what the Bible said that God loves us all and how He sent His Son to die for us all, showing us His love. Ben said he understood that but he just didn’t feel God’s love. I told him the Bible doesn’t tell us to feel God’s love but to believe that He does love us and that Jesus died for our sins. As he grew older Ben became more and more convinced that God did love him, because He said so in His Word, the Bible. And he thanked us several times for making sure he knew that God loved Him and sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross for him.But Benjamin seemed to struggle with life more and more the older he became. Life was hard for him and he was often hurt by people he put his trust in. And finally the Lord allowed him to leave us. We forgive Benjamin because we love him and understand how much he was hurting.Now we know he is truly at peace and with the Lord Jesus. I imagine him with his big smile, and peaceful eyes and I know that now he can truly feel the love he always wanted to feel. And that he has that joy and peace from the Lord.And now our son, our good and perfect gift is with the Lord and I understand better the verse from Matthew 6.21, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NIV)Benjamin is now our treasure in heaven and our hearts are there with him. Our good and perfect gift has become our heavenly treasure.