Wednesday, November 19, 2008

You’re invited to a treasure hunt! - CROSS PURPOSES 142

You’re invited to a treasure hunt!

Who has never had the dream of finding a treasure chest? As a kid the stories of pirates hiding their stuff fascinated me, mostly because we were as poor as church mice. Having once, as a 10 year old, read about the value of a 1930 Australian penny, I turned our whole house up and down, also in the ceiling, driven by the dream of finding such a coin.

Somewhere between Czechoslovakia and Germany, probably in the region of what was East Prussia, one day somebody is going to find a whole lot of buried silver, gold jewelry and other valuables. Can’t tell you exactly where except that it’s on a bend of a river. It happened in 1944-1945 when a family of the German nobility was fleeing before the advancing Russians. Over-laden with the family treasures and therefore slowed down, all they could do was to bury all that ‘treasure’ in the hope of one day going back there to reclaim it.

It never happened. The Iron Curtain descended. The Baron died. His only daughter, who told me this story while we lived in Canberra, has also died. Someday some lucky farmer is going to find that horde when his plough goes just a fraction deeper! If he doesn’t own the field he might get smart and arrange to buy it. That’s what Jesus advised!

"The kingdom of heaven is like 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 that field.” Matthew 13:44

Of course Jesus wasn’t talking about earthly riches. His sentence starts with, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”

Most of us will have a fair idea of how things stand in ‘the kingdom of earth.’ I suspect we’re aware of our net worth and have a sort of a plan about how we’ll get by. Few of us will be unaware of the status of our shares, or of property values.

On the other hand, how is it with you as regards the Kingdom of God?
Are you hungry for the treasure?
Do you know what that treasure actually is?
Have you found the treasure yet?
Are you free to ‘sell everything’ to make sure you can get it for yourself.

Fred, Fred, questions questions questions. Nevertheless they are the most important questions you and I will ever ask.

Bless you guys.

Fred

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