What Do You Do with Treasure?

If you came upon a treasure beyond imagination, what would you do? You would undoubtedly do all you could to secure it. You would keep it safe and enjoy the fruits of it.

There is a treasure available to us that we do not “treasure” as we should. It is the Word of God. It doesn’t look or feel like a treasure. It’s so commonplace to us that we probably don’t think of it as a treasure. The Word of God is a treasure that cannot be exhausted. In it there are always new “treasures” to be found.

An example of this is Jesus’ parables on treasure: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

In each parable the person who finds treasure of extraordinary value sells everything in order to obtain the treasure he has found. Shouldn’t we value the treasure of God’s Word more than anything?

But as a treasure of incomparable value, the Word of God yields even more treasure. In the verses before these two parables (Matthew 13:1–43) Jesus tells several parables having to do with the Kingdom of God, with God as the subject. Likewise, in the verses after the two parables about treasure, Jesus tells yet one more parable of the Kingdom, also with God as the subject (Matthew 13:47-50).

Could it be that God is also the subject of the parables of treasure? That He is the one who finds treasure of great value and does all He can to secure this treasure?

What if the “The kingdom of heaven [that] is like treasure hidden in a field” is showing that we are the treasure, and that the “man [who] found [it] and covered [it] up” is showing us that God is that man? What if we have here a picture of God seeing us and rejoicing in His greatest treasure, rejoicing so much that in “His joy He goes and sells all that He has and buys that field”? That He, in fact, gives His very own Son in order to redeem (buy) the world (the field).

And what if “the kingdom of heaven [that] is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, [and] who, on finding one pearl of great value” is showing that we are the pearl of great value, and that man who “went and sold all that he had and bought it” is showing us that God is that man?

What do you do with treasure? You treasure it, of course. That’s what God did. He created us and He has redeemed us. He treasures us and gives us the very vault of heaven. The Word of God is a treasure that is ever enriching with us the Good News that our Lord loves us and forgives us.