God’s grace, unexpected and unbelievably valuable.

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“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.”
Matthew 13:44

I was reminded of this very short parable of Jesus when Brian came to excavate for my new house two weeks ago.  I joked with Brian, “If you dig up any buried treasure, remember that it’s mine!”

We both laughed at the very unexpected image of him digging up a chest of gold coins, when so far all my property had yielded was old wire, broken bottles, and rocks.  But then, you never know!  What if you were digging on some rented land and found a great treasure?  Wouldn’t you want to sell all you had to buy that property so you could have the treasure?

Now never mind the ethical questions that Jesus’ parable raises about “finders and keepers”.  Notice the main points of this parable.  The treasure, when found, was unexpected and extremely valuable.  And the man who found it gave up all he had to get that treasure.

Just so with God’s grace.  God comes and finds you and me when we are not even aware of Him.  And when he finds you and you experience the joy of His love and the riches of His forgiveness, everything else in your life pales in comparison.  To know Him, to know His grace, is better than all the wealth in the world, better than the largest house or the finest car or dare I say it, the most powerful Harley.

Saint Paul said it this way, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” (Philippians 3:8a)  When you have the greatest Treasure in the world, what are a few other baubles or trinkets?  If you know the unbelievable love of Jesus, everything else in your life is a mere footnote.

Lord Jesus, you are all the world to me, my Joy, my Hope, my Life.  Forgive me for ever considering that anything in this world compares to You and your grace.  You are my Great Treasure! Amen.

Text and Picture copyright Steve Nickodemus