“I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

“Do you have the keys? That was the question being asked over the phone as I listened to my voicemail. I had to play the message a couple times because I didn’t recognize the person speaking. But soon enough I put it all together and understood the what’s, the wheres and the why’s. Now, the only question in my mind was… “do I know where those particular keys ARE?” So I went looking.

Years ago I was given a set of keys to a home of one of my church members. The owner had asked if I would mind checking in on their property when they were away for the summer. Those keys went right into the consul of my truck, where I had about 40 OTHER keys. Having recently sold my truck, I had nonchalantly taken all those keys and thrown them into a box. Now I had a problem!

I really don’t know what all the keys I have, go to. Over my lifetime I have had access to dozens of doors. Some mine, some belonging to others. But as time passed, access to those doors were no longer needed or available. Keys are important because without them, access can be denied. I just don’t have the heart to throw away something that important. And it was a good thing!

The ‘voicemail person’ had left their phone number, so I called. The family had lost track of the keys to their winter home, but remembered that I had been given a set. Grabbing all the keys I had, I drove

to meet them. Thankfully, I had the key they were needing. And while the key didn’t go to anything ’I’ owned, it brought me joy to be able to help them not have to kick a door down!

Today I have the privilege of presenting ‘THE KEY’ to a group of Middle Schoolers. It is the same ‘Key’ presented to me years ago. But unlike my other keys, I make SURE I don’t misplace or lose it, because the VALUE of what THAT Key accesses, is PRICELESS! It was entrusted to me by The Master of the Universe, and it came with 2 conditions. 1. NEVER lose it. And 2. ALWAYS share it with others.

DO YOU hold ‘The Key?’ Do you know what it is? Do you hold its value above all things? Is your Key well worn and used? Do you have a habit of sharing The Key with others?