Treasure: What would you give up for it?

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 -Matthew 13:44-46

This verse has been eating at me for an entire week and while I don't claim to be much of a scholar anymore (if I ever was), I feel there's a lot to take away from it. Here we witness Jesus speaking in parables to help understand something that seems beyond human comprehension. It's important to note that he says "is like" rather than "is". Ultimately these parables will fall short but they do a good job getting us closer to understanding that we once were. So what is it saying? I don't know, but I'll tell you what I think it's saying.

First let's get our heads around what exactly we're hearing here. Imagine walking through a field. Maybe if you're like me it's easier to imagine hiking through the woods, wandering and exploring. You come to a clearing and see something sticking out of the ground. It's something extremely valuable, maybe a briefcase full of Google stocks (most companies don't actually issue stock certificates anymore but just imagine). You don't take it because you're afraid it might belong to someone who might not be happy about you having it so you cover it back up to make sure nobody else happens upon it should they come walking through later.

You know the value of that briefcase is extraordinary and you can barely sleep at night. Finally after time goes by of restless nights, you can take no more. You sell your house (you're lucky to be in an area where you can actually sell a house these days), your car, every possession you own so that you can manage enough money to go to the owner of that land and make the best offer possible to buy the property the briefcase is buried on.

What if it's not there after you buy it? What if in the time you went to sell everything, some kid came wandering by and found it and took it home? You just gave up everything. You sold everything you had, your shelter, your transportation, everything that has meaning to you. And you bought that land. That land has far less value without that briefcase, but does the thought of it maybe not being there keep you from giving up all you have?

Nope.

Heaven is that thing (I purposely don't say place) that holds more value than anything you could ever come to own and so if giving up everything to have it is your only chance, you take that chance.

What do you value in this world? I mean, what truly guides your decisions in life?

Are you guided by adventure? Maybe a personal sense of accomplishment. How about money? Do you take that better career at all costs?

Or is it something else? What do you value?

Family? Would you give up anything to be with them?

God? What if that means giving up an entire lifestyle that you've become so comfortable with?

I'm a man, and as such, only know the perspective of a man. I don't know if it's similar for women, tell me if so, but I find that I'm living in a world that so often judges the worth of a man by his ability to earn money. By what he can provide for himself and others. While many would say that there are more important things, I so often realize that others would be impressed by me more if I wore nicer clothes, drove a fast sports car or big truck, or if I owned all kinds of toys that others could try out. That is the world that I live in, and yet, it's not what I value.

Money has never been of high value to me beyond providing needs. I have spent most of my life buying experiences with others rather than things of value. I drive a 1998 Chevy Cavalier with rust on the body and almost 200,000 miles. The only things I could sell for any real value would be my Novara Safari touring bicycle and the MacBook Pro that I'm writing this from. That's about it. I don't have a lot of nice clothes, mostly just comfortable t-shirts. I don't stack up to what many feel is impressive.

And yet, I bought into that world.

I assumed that to be worthy of what mattered to me most, to be loved, that I needed to make more money. I took a job on this assumption, thought it would be impressive. I don't regret much in life because until there is a way to go back in time, there's not much good in regretting things. But I regret taking a job because I felt the money would make me a better person.

There is nothing wrong with money, it serves its purpose in this life, but when we find a true treasure we better be willing to sell or give up all that falls short of it's worth because to not do so would be foolish.

Father, I have withheld so many things that I have placed as at least equally valuable as you. Please forgive me for not understanding that you are the treasure most worth pursuing, the only part of life that can be nothing but good. I thank you for that unconditional love you have for your children, a love we cannot fathom but understand the significance of. I give you what little I have and am and pray that you would allow my life to reflect the undeserved blessings you freely give to all who would give up anything to have you in their lives. Amen.

I leave you with this.

Micah Tawlks - Treasure

Running Lost In The Woods (Psalm 49:12-14)

This morning I found myself in the book of Psalms which to be quite honest, I don't often explore as much as I should. My comfort zone is really in the gospels and even more so in the letters from Paul. I find this a little odd because I myself have long enjoyed writing poetry, despite not having revealed any in quite some time. Poetry has this ability to paint with words in broad strokes and captivate the imagination. It speaks from the heart of the one writing, but also from the heart of the interpreter who is reading it from their own point of view.

Perhaps this is why poetry is the language of music. Almost every popular song out there (regardless of whether it is musically complex) has a theme in that it is written to resonate with others. It might be some beautiful story about love or love lost (Adele, I hope you cheer up soon) but it also might be something far less noble like just looking to have a good time dancing.

Psalms is one of the best collections of poetry in the Bible and it's no wonder that many hymns and even modern worship songs are based around verses taken from this beautiful book of expression about who God is to God's people. It is also a very honest book full of both praise and petition, but also confession of doubt or of a wavering faith.

How many times have I struggled to see God at work in my life? How many times have I found myself overwhelmed by the difficulty situations that this world sometimes brings and wondered, where is God and why can't He just show up in the way I want? The number is probably far too many to count, but it seems that if we're often doubting God and struggling to see His face in this world, we are in good company as countless times throughout Psalms we see mentions of praise for who we believe God is, an assurance that we truly trust that if God could just intervene we know what God is capable of. We also see grief expressed in what often follows which is something to the effect of, "God I know you're the almighty God, a God of love and grace who knows no match, but why then, if you are all of these things, have you not put on your cape and wisked me away from this struggle? I know you could save me from this, but are you going to ever show up?"

But then I stumbled upon something that I really want to focus on. The idea that, yes God can do all things, but that we only allow God's work in our lives to truly glorify Him when we stop relying on ourselves, when we stop putting God in second place to us as ruler over our own life.

People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd.

-Psalm 49:12-14

Confession time, I wrestle with God constantly over who should have control over my life. God lets me win though and it's only in discovering my inadequacies that I am able to fall on my face and plead for Him to take over.

Once when I was a kid I was walking through the woods near my house. My dad and a couple others were with me as we were returning from a hike down to the creek and at some point I decided to get out ahead of the group on the path. Eventually I stopped and looked back but did not see anyone. They were hiding to prove a point and it was only when I realized that while I liked the idea of being leader of this hike in theory, I was not the best equipped for it. I didn't know my way back so I turned and sprinted back in the direction from which I came. I tripped over a root and fell face first to the ground. I was cut up and bleeding and I was scared. I lay there unable to move because I knew that I couldn't make it home on my own. It was only then that my dad came out from behind a tree, helped me to my feet and dusted me off before showing me the way.

There are times when God won't feel present, but I wonder if it's not so much that God isn't there with us, but that we've decided to sprint in our own direction without worrying to bring God along. We get the feeling that we know what's best for us and rather than continue to remain by God's side to make sure the way we thought was best really is, we just leave Him in our dust.

Father, we want to be just like you, and it's sometimes hard to remember that even in our best attempts to be like you, there is no better ruler over our lives than you are. In the times when we try to lean on our own strength, our own understanding of the world, we pray for brokenness so that you might be restored to the throne we often try to sit in ourselves. Make us more like you but Lord, we glorify you for who you are, the King of our lives. Help us along the way to know your presence, never let your voice part from our ears. Amen.