Get your shovels. There’s gold in them there yards!
Did you read the story recently about the Northern California couple who were walking their dog on their own property and stumbled across a buried treasure? Inside several decaying metal canisters near an old tree they found over 1400 old gold coins, most of them in mint condition, totaling over ten million dollars in value!
I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
It’s always been one of my favorite stories that Jesus told. I love the idea of someone stumbling across a treasure of great value. What would you do? How would you react? What would you spend it on?
Something struck me when I heard this story, though. Something I had never thought about. Maybe it never occurred to you either. Really, it’s a very simple thought. No one hides a treasure without intending for it to be found.
The person who stowed that cache of gold away intended to come back to it someday. Or maybe they intended for someone else to find it–someone they loved and wanted to provide for. Someone who would be overjoyed at such an amazing find. Either way, no one hides a treasure intending for it to stay hidden. Hidden gold is…well…for all practical purposes worthless.
So when Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, he intends for us to find it. He intends for us to search him out, to look for him intently and to not give up. Jesus wants you to have his treasure.
The sad reality is, most people give up before they find the treasure. Either that or they settle for something less than a treasure. Maybe it’s comfortable, maybe it’s easy, maybe it’s even safe. But is it really a treasure?
I wonder what would have happened if that couple had decided to walk their dog the other direction that day. Or what if they stopped short of the tree and never found the treasure?
I wonder if you stopped short of finding the treasure. I wonder if you settled for something less, something safe and comfortable, but something that was not God’s treasure.
If there is a God, and I believe there is, then he desires to be known by you. He wants you to find him. In fact, he says so. In Jeremiah 29:13 God says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” If you haven’t found his treasure yet, don’t assume it’s not real or that it’s just not for you. You can know that he’s there and and can be found by you.
Now…where did I put that shovel? I’m going to go check some trees.
