Matthew 6: 19-21 (KJV) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Heavenly Treasure Hunt
A hunting we will go.
A hunting we will go.
Hi-ho, hallelujah, oh,
A hunting we will go.
Sometimes, I just don’t know what I’m doing and I feel like I’m more lost than I’ve ever been. But that’s when grace reminds me that we would have no use for the Light on this pathway of life if there weren’t times when it’s too dark to see the way. Most all the “coins” I find in this treasure hunt are found by feel, or rather by faith, than they are by sight.
Fatherless, (oftentimes having felt motherless as well) I’ve spent almost the whole of my thirty-nine years trying to be perfect at everything I put my hands to. I have a mother and do not mean to dishonor her whatsoever. You see, she even admits to not having been affectionate with her children when we were young. And, praise the Lord, she has been working very hard to lose that tough shell she built up after she lost her own parents as a teenager. But for me, perfectionism has been some kind of psychologically driven reaction to the need to feel loved -- “If I’m good enough, maybe you’ll love me.” Nevertheless, years of striving so hard for perfection have gained me nothing but frustration. It certainly never gained me love. Okay, so I earned a trophy and a medal or two. But rust will eventually destroy them.
There is an old Irish legend that tells us there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Ah! A rainbow -- a sign of promise! I used to think as a child that I would grow up someday and be able to drive. Then, I would race to the end of that rainbow and see it touch the ground. I never did believe that old legend. But perhaps I should have! At the end of myself, I’ve found this amazing treasure overflowing with riches untold. At the end of myself, I’ve found that the end is really just the beginning and the beginning is life. Silver and gold have I none. But what I have, I give to you:
I’m storing another coin in my heavenly treasure chest. You can be sure that Caesar’s face adorns neither side. This one, I am calling “Friends.” As long as I worked on being perfectly loveable, the more unlovable I became. Then, empty handed and brokenhearted, I set my eyes on some things quite heavenly:
First, I saw the adoration that my greatest Friend, my FATHER, has for me. John may very well have been His "Beloved." But I am His "Adored!" Then, when I learned that I could depend upon His unfailing love, I saw the arms of God in my friends’ embraces.
I am richer today because you love me with a Godly, agape love. If I knew exactly what I were doing, God only knows that I’d have tried to earn that somehow and I’d have thoroughly messed it up. How confounding are the ways of God!
Today, I heard someone say “If I need someone to judge me, I’ll go to church.” It made my heart ache. I’m working real hard on obtaining for myself another coin. This one, I will call “Transparency.” But please be patient with me; I can tell you now that I will have to dig deep for some of that old fearlessness. As fearless as I once was, transparency was one of those things I never could seem to perfect. In fact, I became quite the mask master.
The treasure at the end of myself and at the beginning of promise is chock full of surprises. Around every bend in this pathway, the Light shines, revealing the gleam of yet another precious coin. But none of those coins are so valuable to me as the Love I have found in endless mercy. Now, let’s see a moth chew on that one!
© Joyce Pool
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