Treasure
By Brother Scott
Matthew 13:44 – ”The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.”
When I read this, it reminded me of when I found “treasure” hidden in the love of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of Heaven is greater than anything we could ever imagine. But, we are given a glimpse of this Kingdom, this treasure through Jesus Christ. The apostle John says (in John 1:14), “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” All the apostles bear witness to this truth. And every one of them suffered because of this truth. Christ Himself suffered for this truth.
Imagine knowing of something that is so wonderful, so magnificent, so incredibly unbelievably, undeniably amazing that once you have but only caught a glimpse of it, you would give up everything, even your life to have it. Our lives are spent in search of that something. We all have this need to fill this emptiness in us that is overwhelming. We know something is missing, but we just can’t put a finger on exactly what it is. In our search, we often find that the things which bring us happiness are short lived. It is because we focus on earthly things … such as money, cars, clothes, shoes, jewelry, drugs – quite simply put: material things. We all make sacrifices to get what we want. That in and of itself is not wrong. It’s what we sacrifice ourselves for.
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Again in 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul tells us “Because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” I want everyone to just stop for a second; take a look around you. Everything that you can see is dirt. It came from the dirt, and one day it will return to that from which it came, including us. Solomon, the son of David, probably the wisest man that ever lived, says in Ecclesiastes 3:20, “All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.” The fact is this: everything we possess, along with our bodies, will one day return to the dirt. Why do we place so much value in dirt, especially when it is only temporary? Obviously, we seek the wrong treasure. Jesus tells us in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6: 19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust can destroy, and where thieves can break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can destroy, and where thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Since we all make sacrifices to get what we want, to find that treasure, to fill that overwhelming emptiness that we all have, I challenge you all to look at things for what they truly are. What treasure are you seeking? As for me, having had a glimpse of the love that Jesus Christ showed for me dying on the cross, so that one day I can be with Him in paradise, I just can’t understand why anyone would choose “dirt” over the glory of Heaven.
In Matthew 13: 45-46, Jesus says, “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”