THE TV pictures of the 90-year-old lady in London, beaten in her own bed and bruised and injured so badly, will have shocked many of us. How could anyone do such a thing we ask?

Whatever drove that person we do not know, but it would seem that they had ransacked her room. And for what? For a few possessions – a few of her worldly goods. The real loss has been her health and her well being, and the happiness of those who love her. I am sure that to her children and family, the possessions pale into insignificance by comparison with the life of their Mother. The possessions weren’t important.

For us all, it is health and happiness, for ourselves and for those we love, that matter in life, not an abundance of possessions. We value security, and our friends, and assurance about the years ahead.

Many people that I talk to are busy trying to get rid of accumulated possessions, registering that they have more than they want or need. Charity shops may benefit as a result, or taking part in a car boot sale might be the solution. There we find people gaining great pleasure from poking around among people’s spare possessions, hoping to find some hidden treasure. What one person doesn’t want is a joy to someone else!

When some young relatives were with me recently, one asked if she could go again to the room “where your painting things are”. When she had stayed previously we had gone in search of paints etc prior to a happy afternoon painting. So, off she went, with brother and sister, to explore the large carpeted room under my eaves which is actually where I store things, where there are possessions that need to be sorted, and where things get dumped.

The children kept coming down to show us what they had found – treasures to them, but possessions to be sorted and discarded to me. “What is that big board with big letters on “h,e,a”? It was a board that I had used to enliven a church talk. The three dimensional letters were brightly painted, and the whole thing would have appealed to a six-year-old, with artificial flowers and shiny stars stuck on.

I told her that the word was “Heaven” and that I had been talking about heaven in church. Satisfied, she returned to her brother and sister and their continued investigation of my stored possessions. A little later: “Can I bring Heaven down and show it to Mummy and Daddy”. “Wow” I thought! That is what the gospel of Jesus is, stated in simple form.

Jesus, God’s Son, came down to earth to show us the human face of God. He kept telling his followers about the Kingdom of Heaven, and showing them what would be true in God’s Kingdom of Heaven. His instructions were that his followers should tell others about it. “Yes, certainly!” I replied, “Bring Heaven down and show it to Mummy and Daddy.”