Real 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)

I grew up in farm country in southwestern Pennsylvania. As a child most of my time was typical of the average farm kid. Helping with farm chores and working with the cattle occupied much of my time. But there were also lots of moments to just kick around and explore the country side, which I would do as often as I could. One of my favorite pastimes was to walk along the banks of Muddy Creek, which was right below our house to see what I could discover. On one such occasion I found an old abandoned shack about 50 feet away from the creek-bed. The grass and briers had grown up so much around the house that it was all but hidden from sight. The widows were all busted out, the roof was leaking, and the entire building was leaning to one side. As I carefully walked across the water-logged floorboards I entered what used to be the main room of the house. In the middle of the room was an old moldy, pressed-wood coffee table. Sitting on top of it was one of the most amazing discoveries of my childhood adventures. It was a brass colored rock about the size of a large man’s fist. I picked it up. It was fairly heavy. It looked like the real thing. It felt like the real thing. I couldn’t believe my good fortune… I’d found a huge chunk of gold! What was the gold doing there? And why would anyone abandon such a fortune in that run down cabin? It didn’t matter to me. I figured it must have been abandoned by some bad guys who probably stole it from someone and they’d probably forgotten all about it as they were high-tailing it away from the law. No matter, it was “finders – keepers” in my mind anyway. So I picked up my treasure and headed back home dreaming about all the wonderful things I could do with my new found fortune.

The next day was a school day and I couldn’t resist sneaking my treasure into my backpack and showing it off to my friends at school. After all, a seventh grader carrying around a two pound chunk of gold in his backpack ought to have some bragging rights, shouldn’t he? Halfway through the day, word had gotten around about my discovery. Several people had asked to see it. I think it was then that I began to fantasize about how famous I would soon become. Surely television and newspaper reporters would be waiting for me when the bell rang at the end of the school day.

Following lunch, one of my teachers asked if he could examine my chunk of gold. “Sure,” I said. “It would be good to get his expert opinion,” I thought to myself. He’d recently been teaching us how to identify other rocks like granite and sandstone and quartz in one of our classes. I’d found most of those discussions fairly boring and spent most of my time daydreaming as he lectured. “Who cares about a bunch of stupid rocks anyway?” But things were different now. “Having an expert validate the gold’s worth would be wise thing to include when the reporters interview me,” I reasoned to myself. He started to chuckle almost immediately after I handed it to him. (That wasn’t quite the response I had expected.) “Well,” he said, “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you. What’ve you found is a wonderful specimen of iron pyrite – fool’s gold.” “Fool’s gold? You mean it’s not real?” “Afraid not – it’s an interesting find,” he said, “but it’s definitely not the real thing.” He pointed out a sample of it on the rock collection board in the back of the room – the one he had used during the aforementioned lectures. (At that point, I remembered leaving a question about iron pyrite unanswered on the rock quiz he had given to the class.) Like fog melting in a warm morning sun, my visions of grandeur began to fade away. I went from hero to zero in a matter of 60 seconds. Throughout the rest of the day I had to endure the jokes of my classmates for being duped by a common rock. I remember thinking as I carried that “stupid rock” home that my backpack felt a great deal heavier than it did that morning.

Nobody lives without facing disappoints now and then. So much of life promises much but delivers little. But not so when you give your heart to the Lord. In the parable above Jesus tells the story of a man who happens upon real treasure. In 1st Century Palestine, there were no banking systems, so people often buried valuables to protect their wealth. One day while walking through a field this fellow makes a wonderful discovery. He immediately recognizes the great value of what he’s discovered. It’s a stretch for him to purchase the land – he literally has to sell everything else he has to own it. But he does so gladly because he knows the greater value of what he will receive. In his estimation, it simply makes good sense to sacrifice everything he presently has to receive this valuable treasure. Everything else in his life paled in comparison to the value of his discovery. Giving up all he had to make that purchase was a great move. He was glad he did it.

What’s the point of the parable? Jesus is teaching a lesson on the value of salvation in comparison to everything the world has to offer. Jesus is saying that there is something more valuable than anything you own. It is so valuable that – if we sold all that we had to obtain it, we wouldn’t regret it because we would be richer than we ever thought possible. What is this marvelous investment? What is it that is more valuable than anything we own? It is a relationship with Him. It’s the offer of salvation and promise of forgiveness of sins. It’s the removal of all our guilt and shame. It’s the reward of an abiding relationship with Jesus and the reward of heaven as a home. Stack up all the world’s treasure on one side – and weigh what Jesus delivered on the cross against it. There is no comparison. When seen for what it really is, worldly treasure is no more than fool’s gold while the cross of Christ makes a man richer than he could ever dream. Jesus asked, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”

I never did discover why that piece of iron pyrite was sitting in that dilapidated cabin. I sometimes think the Lord placed it there to help me learn a very important lesson early in life. “Don’t chase after fool’s gold, but store up for yourself treasure in heaven where thieves do not break in and steal.” The treasure of Christ is available to everyone willing to give their all in exchange for what Jesus offers. He gave His all for us. We can do no less for Him.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT