Treasure
You are walking through a field. Something you see sticking
out of the ground grabs your attention. Its shape sparks your
curiosity. You go over to investigate, and find what seems to
be the corner of an old treasure chest. You dig around and after
what seems to be an eternity you are able to pull the chest
out of the ground. It is incredibly heavy. You find a large
rock and break the lock and open the lid. Inside, sparkling
in the sunlight, is the most precious jewels you have ever seen.
The entire trunk is packed full. You quickly realize that you
have discovered something beyond comprehension in terms of value.
You also realize that you can't just take it, because the field
doesn't belong to you. You bury the trunk again, go home, sell
your house and everything in it, and cash in all your assets,
and then go purchase the piece of property where you found the
chest. The treasure is now yours.
Sound like a far-fetched story? It's the story
Jesus told to his disciples in Matthew 13:44. Jesus gave a number
of parables on "The kingdom of heaven is like...". Here he explains
that the kingdom of heaven is like this man who finds this treasure.
In other words, what he found was more valuable to him than
anything else he had. If you and I think about that, we often
times try to equate that with money. To think of this parable
only in terms of monetary wealth is to miss the point completely.
The point here is that the treasure is realized to be more valuable
than any possessions or amount of money already owned. But even
more than that, the realization is that the treasure is worth
more than family members, loved ones, and even your own life.
All of this is included in realizing the value of the kingdom
of heaven. The disciples realized this, and did give up all,
even their own lives, for the treasure. Do you realize the value
of the treasure?
Mt 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.
William Hiskey
Director of Youth Ministries, First English Lutheran,
Spencer IA
Updated: 7-30-2002
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