Finding Treasure

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Matthew 13:44

I read of a lady recently who had been putting off cleaning out an old purse. When she finally cleaned it out, she found $100.00 and a gift card to a department store that was about to expire! It had been right under her nose every day while she had gone right by it, cleaned around it, and thought about it. She found a treasure that she didn't even realize was there!

The man in this verse may have walked past this particular field every day for years. He didn't pay much attention to it, because it was just like every other field, full of rocks, weeds, briars, trash; but little did he know that there was treasure to be had in that field. And when he finally stumbled across that treasure, he went and sold all that he had to buy the field, so he could have that treasure. It must have been worth a lot to him!

Think about a field; what's in it? There is most likely some dirt and rocks, some weeds, some sticks, maybe a few flowers if you're lucky. If it's a pasture, there will be some leftovers from the cows - you know what I mean! There are insects and bugs, maybe a snake or two. But what might be hidden in the field? My mom and dad used to love to search for "hidden treasure" in fields using a metal detector. They would find old coins and things like that; once they found an old pair of eyeglasses. They had a lot of fun looking for treasure, but they couldn't see those things just by walking in the field - they had to search for them.

How can this apply to our lives? Every person we know has a treasure. Your husband, your children, your parents, your siblings, your friends, and even the strangers you pass every day. Every person also has a field where their treasure is hidden, and that field may not look like it has any treasure in it. There might be lots of rocks and sticks, maybe some smelly, ugly things, maybe some insects that irritate - but there is also a treasure! Are you willing to find that treasure? Are you willing to endure that field in order to get the treasure?

Here are some things to remember about finding the treasures around you:

1 - Recognize that everybody has a treasure! Everyone has something that adds value to their lives, something that makes them special. There is something worth finding in everyone.

2 - Recognize that every treasure is in a field. Everyone has things in their life that aren't as valuable; everyone has things that aren't pleasant to deal with. There are ugly things in everyone's life.

3 - Recognize and decide that you must endure the field to enjoy the treasure. You have to get into the field and dig if you're going to find it.

4 - Do what you can to clean up the field - and start with your own field!

5 - Love the treasure! Do everything you can to cherish it. The man in the verse above sold everything he had to get the treasure. Are you willing to sacrifice to find the treasures in your life?

What treasure is in your life that you're walking past every day because it's in a rocky, dirty field? Is it hard to see the treasure for the field? How can you search for treasure in those fields? What is that treasure worth to you? Are you willing to "sell all you have" to get that treasure? Each person in our lives deserves to have their treasure found and brought to light. What can you do today to find and display the treasures in your life?