Heavenly Treasures

One of my favorite non-fiction authors is Rick Joyner, and one of many wonderful books that he has written is entitled, The Call. I was just really blessed by the insight of a particular character who, when asked what he saw when he looked at a prison yard full of people replied, "A great field of buried treasure." The young man’s reply left a rather memorable impression on me and there were several reasons why it spoke to me. But I think the primary one is that no matter how bad things look in the natural, God can turn it into a treasure. One of the most valuable questions that we can ask Him is, "Lord, what do you want to teach me through this?" If we can remember to do that then we will set ourselves up to receive added depth to our character and our relationship with Him. These treasures will position us to step into the meaningful future that He has planned for us, and enable us to remain faithful with it.

Hidden Treasure

Jesus speaks of a man who finds a hidden treasure in a field, sells all he has, and buys the field (Matt 13:44). And when I checked out the Greek word for treasure, (the New Testament was originally written in Greek) I discovered that the word could be used either literally or figuratively. So this wealth is not necessarily a monetary issue. While our greatest treasure will certainly be our personal relationship with Jesus, our relationship with those who love us is also a treasure. The talents and abilities that the Lord has put into each of us are treasures that we can use to express our love to Him. Also, encouraging one another in our giftings, or even helping one another to discover them are treasures that will change lives – perhaps even the world.

But it all begins with a personal relationship with Jesus. If we don’t have that, we don’t have the most valuable treasure of all. Without Jesus, we’re directionless, dejected and destitute. And laying up treasure in Heaven only begins with making Jesus the center of our lives. When the rich young ruler in Luke chapter 18 verses 18-23 asked what good thing he could do to have eternal life, the problem wasn’t the fact that the man was rich. It was his focus. His arrogance, pride, envy, and greedy lust for lots of stuff and cash cost him the greatest treasure of all. He thought he could do something to earn or buy his personal relationship with Jesus. He couldn’t understand that a healthy, real, relationship with God can’t be earned or purchased with human strategies. By the way, neither can God’s goodness - nor His grace, favor, forgiveness, peace nor any of His other blessings.

God’s Heart for World Changers

In the Gospel of John chapter 4 verse 23, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that the Father is seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. The Greek word here also defines seeking as, "to go enquire", or "to seek after". So one could say that the Lord pursues people whom He knows He can trust and then grants them opportunities. Likewise, many are called but few are chosen (Matt. 20:16). The Greek word "called" can be defined as "appointed", and the word "chosen" as "favored" or "elect". And just because someone isn’t popular with men doesn’t mean that they aren’t favored of God. Consider David – who would have thought that the young shepherd boy would grow up to be a King? Or who would have thought that Joshua the spy would be the one to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land? Or that a typical, young, virgin, Jewish lady named Mary would be chosen to give birth to the Messiah. But just to name a few examples who are more "modern", Watchman Nee, a man born and raised in Communist China, was used by God to help many of his pagan countrymen realize their need for a personal relationship with Jesus. Luis Palau, born and raised in a small town in Argentina, has a worldwide ministry today. And the well-known Pastor Tony Evans started with a 10 member church right here in America about 30 years ago. Today his church has about 7000 members and his preaching is heard on about 500 stations internationally. These people, once a typical as you and I, were chosen by God to do great exploits because of their faithful, willing, obedient hearts. But we must always remember that to whom much is given, much is required. Or to put it another way, God is going to require an extraordinary depth of character in those whom He has chosen to do extraodinary things.

When we choose to lay our own plans at Jesus’ feet, and be willing to change them if we have a sense that He is asking us to do so, then we will not only store up treasures, but the Lord will also cause us to step into the fullness of the future that He has for us. We can start by simply choosing to ask Him, in a simple prayer, to be our personal Lord and Savior. And one day, we can look forward to hearing the treasured words in Matthew chapter 25 verse 21, "Well done good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord."