Treasure Hunting

​It was a bittersweet day.  Although I earned my Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) at Fort Benning, Georgia as a Second Lieutenant, I lost my West Point ring in the process.  I have always thought it would be great to rent a metal detector and go searching for that lost treasure.  The problem is, many decades later, I have no idea even what area to search!

Treasure hunting is big business.  Hunters spend years on the water searching for buried gold and jewelry on sunken ships. Thousands of people buy metal detectors and make it their hobby to look for coins and artifacts on beaches or old battleground sites.   Perhaps you can remember a time in your life when you found something and the discovery brought you great excitement.  I remember as a youngster finding an old lamp used on miner’s helmets in Idaho. Because my grandfather worked the mines it held special value.   
 
Meditation
Colossians 2:2,3—How I long that you may be encouraged, and find out more and more how strong are the bonds of Christian love. How I long for you to grow more certain in your knowledge and more sure in your grasp of God himself. May your spiritual experience become richer as you see more and more fully God’s great secret, Christ himself! For it is in him, and in him alone, that men will find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (J.B. Phillips)
 
The greatest treasure find is not gold, expensive gems, or antiques.  It is not the acquisition of possessions, it is knowing the Possessor!  As Paul wrote the Colossians, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Jesus Christ.  The prophet Isaiah wrote his countrymen, “There will be times of security for you—a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure” (Isa. 33:6).   

To worship, to fear, to know Jesus is to understand and to properly value life.  So many people are searching for the wrong treasures! The world is full of false advertisements regarding what is important or matters.  King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:8-11:
I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces . . . I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem . . .  All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure . . . When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
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Nothing brings peace, joy, fulfillment, and ultimately understanding like knowing God’s Son.  
Erwin Raphael McManus wrote in Chasing Daylight“One of the wonderful side effects of following Jesus Christ is that you get better at living.” If Jesus sat next to you at a corner table in a warm coffee shop and asked, “What treasure are you hunting?” How would you answer? What if His next question was, “What would those who know you well say you are seeking?”  
 
All the treasures are hidden in Him.  Lord help us find You.  
 
©2013 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)