TRUE TREASURE
Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Who as a kid didn't dream of finding buried treasure. Since I was a young boy, when I would hunt, especially around old homestead and places where you can tell that people had built something that has been gone for decades, my eyes are searching for some kind of buried treasure. I can't help but imagine what life was like back in the time that those areas were originally settled. I'm always watching for where they dumped their trash. As there is always some sort of buried treasure.
While most kids dream of buried treasure, a couple of kids that grew up in my hometown went on a lifelong quest for treasure. Several years ago I wrote about Rick and Marty Lagina who grew up in Kingsford Michigan. The two Lagina brothers have spent the last several years searching for buried treasure on Oak Island in Nova Scotia. According to the Nova Scotia provincial government, they have spent over $10 million to find the treasure they seek.
In a response to that devotional, a friend had written, "I've seen that show. They are some very serious treasure hunters. If people would only search the Word of God like that."
What a wonderful thought. If we search for the true treasures that God has written in His Word we would find them and have an eternal treasure that "neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."
Several hundred years ago someone had buried some sort of treasure on Oak Island. They had intentions to come back again and get their treasure back. But now, others are attempting to get what was lost. The treasure became worthless to those that hid it there. God's treasures are ours for the asking. He has set aside "treasures in heaven" for us. All we have to do is ask and dig for them... in his Word.
The last few TV seasons have produced some amazing clues for the Lagina boys. One small thing builds on the next and the treasure mystery becomes a little clearer all the time. The treasures that God has in store for us are revealed clearly as we seek Him, through prayer and His Word... There is no more mystery at that point.
Rick Lagina wrote, "There's a story to be written up here, Treasure, perhaps, but it's a truly wonderful story from a long time ago. Every day it feels like we're turning a page of a really good book... To me, life's a treasure hunt. We're all on one in our own different way, and we happen to be on a real one right now."
What a great commentary on the true Christian life. We should all be searching for the treasure that God has for us. If each of us dug into the scriptures as hard as the Oak Island treasure hunters dig for hidden treasures, what amazing things we would find. We would not only change our own lives... we would change the world!
In 1936 "The Sunderland Echo" of Durham, England published a sermon with the title "Life Is a Treasure Hunt":
"Life is a treasure hunt. We are all searching for something that will make life worth living. Many a man in this modern world feels like a castaway on disappointment island, surrounded by those demons distrust and despair, depression, and disaster."
In Jeremiah 29:13 God is speaking through the pen of Jeremiah to the Israelites. But these words are true for us today as well.
"And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
There is only one thing that "makes life worth living", it's discovering the true treasure. It's finding God's treasure for our lives. The way to find that treasure is time in His Word and time in conversation with Him.
Life is a treasure hunt!
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