“The
kingdom of heaven is like a 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 the field” (Matthew 13:44).
If our
faith is going to be alive and meaningful, we must focus on the treasure and
not on the field.
Years
ago, I knew a girl who seemed to have it all.
She was popular, bright and she was dating one of the best athletes in
the school. It seemed like everything was
going her way. However, years later, life
has not gone according to plan and now she finds herself in a very difficult
place. God is still blessing her, but she
does not seem to know it. If she could
just see the eternal things in her life, she would find deep relationships,
forgiveness, grace, joy and freedom. Sadly,
she has lost sight of her treasure because she is so discouraged by the
circumstances of her field.
The
other mistake that we often make is the exact opposite: We like the field too
much! In other words, we act as if the
field is our treasure and we become so enamoured with what we have, that we
forget to look for what is to come.
Jesus warned of this when he said, “Be on your guard against all kinds
of greed! A man’s life does not consist
in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Then he told a story about a man who had
barns full of blessings, but was poor when it came to his soul (verses 16-21). He ended his comments by reminding us that we
ought to treasure the right things because, “Where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also” (verse 34).
When we
focus on our temporary circumstances, the field, it is easy to become discouraged
or distracted.
However, when we focus on the
eternal, the treasure, we find blessings for this life and the life to come.
As
Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things
will be given to you as well!” (Matthew 6:33)
Comments