Teacups and Keys

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” —Matthew 16:19, NASB

My teacup rack no longer holds teacups, not my preferred choice, but because of common sense. These days the rack is hung above a ceramic-tiled floor.

I figured that one teacup rack filled with six china teacups and saucers, plus one ceramic floor below, might not mix well if a cup were to fall during a dusting session. So the teacups were moved into a cabinet with a glass front.

They are still lovely to view, but they are now protected from smashing on the floor. The pegs below the rack, though, still contain an assortment of antique keys. None of the keys were ever mine originally; they are simply ornamental.

I have acquired them one by one. Some of the keys are large, almost bulky, while others are quite minuscule. Some belonged to my mother.

Others were given to me because the givers knew that I have a fascination for old keys. I have wondered what each key unlocked. I do know the purpose of the so-called skeleton keys and a tiny diary key. Even those tease my imagination: what doors did the skeleton keys unlock, where and when they were used; what was written in the diary, and who did the writing. Scripture tells us about keys—the keys of heaven that will be given to God’s servants (see Matthew 16:19). A thorough study of Scripture reveals that the keys of the kingdom do not have the physical appearance of metal keys; rather, the term relates to the knowledge and acceptance of the gospel, the story of Jesus. They are wonderful, life-changing keys! If we accept and use what we have learned about Jesus, we have the desired keys to enter the kingdom. To my understanding, this means that when we discover the gospel message, our hearts are unlocked and opened wide to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. On Earth, we may open many doors and chests with keys of various sizes and shapes. We humans are known to lose our keys or get locked out of our homes because we are careless with their care.

The keys to the kingdom of God, however, offer us the assurance of entrance to the Lord’s heavenly kingdom, where we will live with Him forever.

One day we will actually see Jesus face-to-face.

Imagine that day!

Betty Kossick (deceased)