Where Faith Meets Trials

I remember growing up, one of the coolest things I wanted to do was grab a shovel, dig a hole and stumble upon buried treasure. Think about how cool that would be: you hear of a secret (because everything sounds way more exciting if it’s secret!) buried treasure that would make you rich beyond your wildest imagination. So I grabbed my pirate hat, slapped on an eye patch, set my stuffed dinosaur on my shoulder (because parrots are over-rated) and set out into my backyard, seeking treasure. Then I realized that I was so little, I couldn’t really lift a shovel. Moving to the next best thing: the sand-box! There I became fascinated with burying things only to dig them back up. It’s like a weird twist to Christmas morning every time I dug up something I had buried minutes before.

Growing up though, I think we all can admit that we’re still on a quest to find buried treasure. But, the question is, are we finding it? Or are we digging and digging only to find mere pebbles and rocks that we settle for as treasure? Is that our heart’s desire? For some pebbles?

I see a lot of people digging. But I really wonder how many of them have really found that one treasure that will last them not just a lifetime, but eternity. Jesus says in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. I see a lot of people digging, not in rich soil but, in a pile of garbage. It’s almost as if someone has blindfolded people and told them that if they bury their hearts in this “rich soil”, they will be happy. But…is it really happiness? Is it true joy?

I’m convinced the people who think they find true joy in alcohol, drugs, sex, money, gaining the most material possessions they can are not really satisfied. I think what has happened is we have settled for the scraps in the trash yard. I don’t think I’m the only one who’s caught on to the idea that burying our hearts in garbage doesn’t leave us full of joy but in a feeling of something missing.

I’m going to put a foot out and say this: I have found the treasure that we’re all looking for. It’s in a field that requires the selling of all the so called “treasure” we hold onto. In this field, there is a treasure that lasts eternity. A treasure that brings true joy. A treasure that, while may be a challenge in so many senses of the word, leads to life.

This treasure is Jesus Christ. I know what you’re thinking, Mountain Dew, right? Or maybe I’ve gone off the deep end without my scuba gear? In John 10:10, Jesus says that he came so that we may have life and have it to the full.

Jesus wants us to live and experience true joy and not to be content with the garbage we’re burying our hearts in.

The question is: have you found the treasure?