Do You Know Where Your Treasure Is?

Treasure. When comes to mind when you hear that word? I think of buried treasure, the whereabouts of which can only be discovered via a crude treasure map. Or maybe swashbuckling pirates sailing the ‘seven seas,’ searching for gold and jewels they can stash in their treasure chest. “Yo, ho, ho! Avast, me hearties!” (I’m not sure what that means.)

 

I remember as a boy reading novels about epic treasure hunts. Adventure, mystery, and intrigue. Not only the search for treasure but also discovering exactly what’s been hidden. The wonders of a young person’s imagination! 

Engaging in a great quest for treasure sounds like fun, but in one sense it’s unnecessary. Because deep down, we all know where our treasure can be found. As Jesus wisely and divinely observed, “For where your treasure is there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

 

Reversing what He said, all we need to do is ask ourselves, what are our passions? What are those things we value above all else? When we awaken each morning, what comes immediately to mind – the primary objects of our focus and desires over the course of the day? When we answer questions like those, we can quickly discern where our hearts (and our treasure) are.

 

“Treasure” can mean many things to just as many people. For some it’s their marriage or family. Nothing is more important. For others, it’s career – pursuing promotions, authority and prestige, along with the requisite financial rewards. Or it might be an ever-growing investment portfolio, necessitating frequent daily checks on how the stock market’s doing. Picture King Midas counting and recounting his extensive stash of cash.

 

That long-coveted car is the treasure some embrace. You can tell by how they react when even a small scratch mars the impeccable finish. Similarly, some find their treasure in houses, designed and decorated with much care and expense. Others might treasure education and the never-ending quest for knowledge, producing a parade of collegiate degrees and commendations.

 

We could add many other potential treasures to this list, but whichever ones we choose they tend to consume copious amounts of energy and time. During His ‘sermon on the mount,’ just before declaring that what we treasure follows what’s in our heart, Jesus admonished:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal”(Matthew 6:19-20).

 

Pondering that gives a different perspective of those things that command our attention. Most of the things we value most – our stuff, bank accounts, hobbies and pastimes – eventually will lose their luster. As someone once said and has often been repeated, we never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer. Everything we’ve devoted our lives to acquiring we’ll have to leave behind.

 

Recognizing that within the context of eternity our earthly lives are little more than the blink of an eye, doesn’t it make sense to “store up treasures in heaven,” as Jesus said?

 

What are those treasures? Again, these can take many forms, but first and foremost is ensuring that our eternal relationship with God is secure. That we’ve repented of our sins, received His forgiveness, and trusting in Christ’s atoning death on the cross, gained the new spiritual life He promises. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

 

But beyond that, do our lives represent investments in eternity? Are the things we treasure most ones that are having eternal impact? As a friend of mine often used to say, “The only things that will last for eternity are the Word of God and people.” Therefore, relationships centered around the truth of God’s Word are the treasures we can store up.

 

Even this can look different from one person to another. For extroverts, this means a long line of friendships and acquaintances through which the light of Christ can shine. For introverts, however, interactions with people aren’t as easy. We tend to have a much smaller group of folks regarded as friends. But we can invest time, energy and even resources in those more deeply.

 

We live in a tangible, temporal world, but we live best when we never lose sight of the eternal home that awaits us. If that’s where our heart is, our treasure – the time, talents and resources God has graciously entrusted to us – is certain to follow.

 

In another setting, Jesus gave a simple description of what this might look like: “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 that he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44). If what we treasure aligns with what God treasures, chances are we’ll be willing to give up all else if necessary to obtain it.

Sitting on an Unopened Treasure Chest

Have you seen any of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, starring Jack Sparrow? Or perhaps you can recall other pirate films from years past, featuring characters like Blackbeard or Long John Silver (not the restaurant). How about “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and Indiana Jones? A common theme in each of these movies was the search for a legendary treasure chest, despite encountering great obstacles. 

What if, once the heroes had overcome great odds and discovered the long-lost treasure, they simply chose to carry it around, or hide it somewhere else, without inspecting the contents of the treasure chest. Wouldn’t that be ludicrous?

And yet, many of us possess a storehouse of treasure, often within an arm’s reach, yet we never open it up to see what’s inside. What I’m talking about are the Holy Bible, which one passage describes as “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4;:12). 

For many millions of people around the world, the Scriptures aren’t so readily available. They can’t take advantage of God’s Word because it hasn’t yet to be translated into their own languages, whether in written or oral form. And in some cultures, including Communist China and many Middle Eastern nations, possessing even portions of the Bible is forbidden. Believers in these lands face opposition most of us in the Western world couldn’t imagine. 

We don’t face such obstacles – at least not yet. But perhaps because the Scriptures are so easily accessible, in many versions and an ever-expanding assortment of formats in print, online and even apps, we take them for granted. Like the air we breathe, it’s there but we rarely notice it.

This is sad. Because just as pirates would eagerly open a long-sought treasure chest to examine its content, we should be just as enthusiastic about plumbing the depths of the Bible’s treasures. Especially since, as I’ve discovered, the Scriptures aren’t like the average treasure chest: Even if we spent a lifetime exploring them, there would be so much more to learn. Here are just several of the passages upon which I have built my life and faith:

More than 40 years ago I adopted Proverbs 3:5-6 as my “life verse,” and it’s provided great encouragement through the twists and turns life has taken since then. It states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and learn not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

One day at a conference I heard someone quote Philippians 3:10 from the Amplified Bible, and it soon turned into my personal “mission statement”: “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of His Person] more strongly and more clearly.” What greater purpose could anyone have than to strive to know and understand God through every aspect of life?

Then years ago I came across another passage, Psalm 45:1, that captured my ultimate desire as a writer and journalist. It reads, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

Three passages that have aptly described my life, my mission, and my career. But there’s been so much more. For instance, numerous declarations in the Scriptures have underscored the importance of making Jesus Christ central to the believer’s everyday life. A friend, Ted, often quotes Acts 17:28, which says, “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Another verse, Colossians 1:27 points out it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

I could go on and on, but I’ll cite just one more passage that helped to clarify what I desired for God to do through my life. In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 we read about a seemingly obscure individual: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers…(he) cried out to the Lord God of Israel, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

Nowhere else in the Scriptures do we read anything about this fellow, Jabez. He’s not included in Hebrews 11’s “hall of faith” or anywhere else in the Bible. But I believe this very brief account was included for a very specific reason – that if our heart’s desire is to serve God and have a greater impact for His eternal glory, God will gladly answer such a prayer.

Have you discovered any “buried” treasures in the Bible? I hope you have. If you haven’t, perhaps you haven’t really been looking. As the apostle Paul prayed for believers he was writing to, “that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3).