Treasured by…

 

“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 that field.”

 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”*

Something unusual caught my attention one afternoon. A person was walking around in our neighbor’s yard with a metal detector. Who was it? Well, it turned out to be her teen-aged son, who was trying to be secretive as he dug up chunks of his front lawn and then patted them down again!

“So, what was he finding?” I wondered. Most likely nails and other bits of metal. I’m sure his mom wasn’t happy when she discovered the bumpy patches of grass in her nicely groomed lawn.  

The treasure seeker in me would love having a metal detector though, with the prospect of finding something valuable buried down in the ground. I must have inherited that inclination from Grandpa Fred, who had an impressive display of geodes, gem stones and minerals that he had collected.

My family spent many weekends with grandpa out in the desert looking for rocks or digging for fossilized shark teeth in the barren foothills around our home in Bakersfield. That area, known as “Sharkstooth Hill,” was once covered by ocean. It was the site of all kinds of fossils, a paradise for those who were willing to spend time digging through the hard layers of earth.

I only have a few reminders of grandpa’s hobby now: his name badge from the Gem and Mineral Society in Oakland, a polished geode containing amethyst crystals and one long clear quartz crystal, plus many wonderful memories of our times together.

One day when my brother Jim and I were reminiscing about grandpa over the phone, Jim asked if I remembered the big gold nugget displayed in a glass case in the front room of his small house. I didn’t have any recollection of a nugget though, probably due to spending more time investigating the things in his garage.

 Among the old chairs, an antique sewing machine and other miscellaneous items, were a monkey’s skull and a pickled baby octopus in a jar of formaldehyde! Grandma must have had something to do with keeping those things out in the garage!

I never thought to ask him the stories behind the monkey’s skull and the octopus, or how  he obtained the gold nugget, Neither Jim nor I knew what had happened to the nugget in the glass case. 

After talking to Jim on the phone, I remembered that someone had made a plaster base for the quartz crystal so that it could be displayed upright. The thought came to me that maybe grandpa had hidden his precious gold nugget down in the plaster base. It seemed like something he might do.

The plaster was soft and easy to chip off with an icepick. After all of the plaster had been removed, all that was left was the crystal and a big mess. No gold nugget. How disappointing!

Far greater than treasures of gold and precious stones is the wonderful relationship we can experience with God our Heavenly Father. What great joy is found walking in harmony with Jesus and of having fellowship with God day by day.

The parables that Jesus told His followers about the man finding buried treasure and the merchant who came upon a valuable pearl illustrate that very well. Each was so overjoyed and excited upon discovering the coveted item that he spent all he had to obtain it. How much more when a person discovers that he or she is a child of God through faith in Jesus!

Perhaps the parables could also be interpreted to show the joy and excitement in heaven when someone chooses to follow Jesus, surrendering his or her all to Him. Jesus said, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15: 16 NIV) We are treasured by God!

 God didn’t hold anything back when He gave His beloved Son for our salvation. In the same way, Jesus gave His all so that we might know God and experience eternal life.  Now it’s up to us!

 

*Matthew 13:44-45 NIV

Pictures of Sharkstooth Hill taken from article, "A Visit to Sharkstooth Hill" by Andrew Alden, Geologist, January 2020