Hidden Treasure

 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Matt 13: 44

Treasure, who as a child didn't dream of sailing the seven seas and finding chests of treasure,,,,, even if it was as a pirate?

Imagination is a wonderful thing, I used to metal detect as a hobby, it’s very relaxing swinging the coil back and forth across the ground waiting for a metal target to set the detector of with a ping. I never did find anything of value, no earthly treasure for me!

But I did find some interesting things, such as two buttons from a First World War trench coat. (Believe it or not, there are websites out there that help you identify military buttons!) I also found loads of rubbish, ring pulls, nails, even a horseshoe, and of course lots of modern coins.

But when you dig up a target, unless it’s made of gold or silver, it comes out of the ground tarnished and corroded. Over time the minerals in the ground react with iron and copper causing rust, corrosion and discolouration. But with a bit of elbow grease (cleaning), modern coins can be made to look recognisable, anyhow back to the parable;

In Jesus' parable about the hidden treasure, the Field represents the earth, the man who is searching is Jesus, and the treasure is us, the people of God,

You know, each and every one of us is tarnished, we're all sinners! Who because of our sin, have absolutely no way of ever finding God by ourselves. Thankfully Luke tells us in chapter 19 verse 10, that Jesus said that He is the seeker,

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

On the cross, Jesus gave his everything for us, his life for the whole world, and made the one perfect atonement offering for our sins. And in that sacrifice, he made a way for us to return to a right relationship with the Father.

Because Jesus had no sin of his own, death couldn't hold him, and the Father restored him b to life and raised him from the grave defeating death once and for ALL of us.

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:21

through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

But here's the thing, even when we were lost and completely tarnished by sin, God looked at us with eyes that saw through the layers of dirt and corruption that encrust us and saw the treasure that's within us. Even with our sins he loved us! that's the amazing grace of God!

Sadly human eyes can only see the surface so they stop at the dirt and corruption and so they focus on it, In our pride and self-righteousness all of us forget that we are also sinners who need God's amazing grace.

So, here's the challenge, try looking at others with eyes that don't judge, it's extremely difficult, so just like me, keep trying!

After all, Jesus commanded us to love one another as we love ourselves!

Have a great day, and God bless,

Trev.