Eternity 123 - The Treasure In The Field
(Matthew 13:44 NKJV) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure
hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes
and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Here in the Philippines treasure-hunting is a national past-time especially
the hunt for a vast store of Japanese gold known as "Yamashita's treasure".
Legend has it that during WW2 General Yamashita amassed a huge hoard of
gold that he had to leave in the Philippines after his defeat by the Allies.
This legend has seen thousands of treasure seekers come here and even given
rise to a National Geographic TV special called "Yamashita's Gold".
These treasure-seekers mount huge and costly expeditions, run out of money,
and go home - often without finding even a single gold bar. Small treasure
finds here and there and bogus maps written in Japanese keep the industry
going. Hope springs eternal among the seekers of Yamashita's gold. This
is because people think that gold is something worth searching for, and
putting great effort into. The treasure is worth "giving all"
for.
There is a constant theme in the Gospels - that the Kingdom is something
we should "give all for". It comes up here and in the next parable
- about the pearl of great price. The story of the rich young ruler, the
call of the disciples and in Peter's observation " Lord we have given
up all to follow you..". Most of all it becomes clear in the cross.
Jesus "gave up all for us so that we might give up all for Him. But
its not just giving up - there is a bountiful receiving, Peter gets a hundredfold,
the rich young ruler would have got treasure in Heaven, the man finds a
hidden treasure, the merchant gets the pearl, and Jesus gets "the name
that is above every name" ((Philippians 2:5-11).
Its never sacrifice just for the sake of sacrifice. There is always an abundant
reward and they "go home rejoicing". In the end it is always "worth
it". Thus the Christian faith is neither ascetic or masochistically
sacrificial, in fact Jesus put an end to sacrifice! The cry of the Christian
is "Abba, father" not "more pain please". Christians
rejoice in their sufferings - because properly endured they will bring a
great reward, not because pain itself is desirable. In fact in Heaven there
will be "no more crying, or sorrow, or pain".
Yet while the Kingdom is indeed "righteousness, peace ad joy in the
Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17) it does have a short-term cost, it is the
"narrow gate" and we may have to "give all" in the short-term
in order to rejoice in the long-term. Jesus, "for the joy set before
HIm" endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). So we have the equation "sell
all you have and give" = " and you shall have treasure in heaven".
First the high cost, then the abundant reward.
Now the pain does not "earn" the reward. The sheer effort of digging
does not "earn" the treasure as a wage, rather digging is simply
the means of discovering a huge gracious bounty. There is no correlation
between effort and reward. Some may dig only a few feet and find a million
dollars, others may search for years and find nothing. The treasure is always
" a find", a "discovery" not a wage. The Kingdom is
always of grace, but sometimes grace must be searched out.
Modern Christians want grace on a plate. There is little sense of having
to search and dig and diligently uncover grace. Few people put real effort
into reading the Bible, studying theology, travailing in prayer or persisting
in good works. The same people who will excitedly line up for an hour for
a sale at Christmas will consider it tedious to read three chapters of Scripture.
We need to get excited about our faith and to treasure it, to seek Christ
with diligence and to dig for grace and truth. The whole idea of Christ
as a priceless treasure and of the enormous value of our heavenly reward
has been disparaged by the "cultured despisers" of Christianity
and we have believed them! We have lost the deeper reaches of grace because
they require earnest seeking and we have no concept that such costly seeking
has any real value. After all "we are saved". Saves yes, but poverty-stricken
in spiritual terms. In this light I'll end this study by quoting what Jesus
said about the need of the Laodiceans to "buy gold refined by fire":
(Revelation 3:14-22 NKJV) "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning
of the creation of God: {15} "I know your works, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. {16} "So then, because
you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
{17} "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need
of nothing'; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind,
and naked; {18} "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire,
that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that
the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with
eye salve, that you may see. {19} "As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. {20} "Behold, I stand at
the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will
come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. {21} "To him who
overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and
sat down with My Father on His throne. {22} "He who has an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'