When a Soldier Marches into Battle, Where Are His Treasures???

When a soldier marches into battle, where are his treasures? This is the question God placed in my soul when I asked Him how I might best help His little (and big) children learn it’s not the size of their toy box but the gift of invisible love that is their most valuable treasure. My initial response was “God, isn’t this apples and oranges? God retorted back “Nope, it’s the fruit of all wisdom”.

After deeper thought, I sensed God’s message and meaning. We can line up, display and even flaunt the ownership of all our physical assets, but are they really everlasting, never leaving treasures? Can they uphold us as we climb the mountains in our lives? Will they even sparkle when we are thrust into our darkest moments? Don’t they often become burdensome baggage we can’t carry with us, so we leave them behind?

A soldier, going off to war, must lay down all his nonessential riches and pick up the call of duty. What matters most to him can solely (and “soul”y) be carried in his heart. The strength to march forward comes only from the mighty weapon of looking in. The mightiest of warriors look into their soul to discover the faith and hope in God that is needed to fight all wars. To find inner peace and direction to march into the unknown, the greatest of soldiers look into their hearts to become armored in their treasure trove -the present of loved ones’ forever presence.

Material possessions come and go. The irony of cherishing them as wealth is that, most often, their importance and value becomes a fleeting worth. Frequently, we forget or outgrow tomorrow what we feel we can’t live without today. Shouldn’t we, therefore, guide all God’s children to stop looking through store windows to find their treasures and start looking into their hearts and discover blessings money can’t buy, and the world can’t take away?

God’s message to me was plain and simple. No matter how young or old a child of God may be, teach them to see their hearts as the suitcase that carries their most cherished treasures. Let us not forget children learn what they live. Thus, to better guide our children, maybe we grown-ups need to more deeply reflect on, and be reflective of, a soldier marching into war.