Treasure Waiting for You

Treasure, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, gold, silver, Jed Clampett’s Texas tea - all these are treasures. So are art and beauty. Faith, hope, and love. Family and friends. Home.

But the Word of God is in a class all by itself. It is "...more precious than gold, than much pure gold..." (Psalm 19:10) And if you enjoy a treasure hunt, the Word is full of many kinds of precious gems. Let me tell you about some I’ve found that have thrilled me down to my toes!

For you to understand my first jewel, I’ll have to take you back to my childhood. Like many kids, I wanted a horse. But I didn’t want just any old horse. I wanted one of those white winged steeds called Pegasus.

Of course, I knew Pegasus was mythical. I was never going to actually ride a flying horse. But I had an imagination and I used it. I fantasized that I owned Pegasus and that gorgeous, pure white stallion would come to me instantly from the four corners of the globe when I whistled (my ability to whistle being part of the fantasy.) Then we would soar off above the clouds for an afternoon of exciting adventures.

The Pegasus dream faded along with my childhood until one day a couple of decades later. I was reading Revelation 19:14, "And the armies which were in heaven followed him [Jesus] upon white horses..."

In a sliver of a second a dream was reborn. I’m going to be part of that army marching down out of Heaven. And I’m going to be sitting on a white flying horse in an adventure led by the Superhero of all time, Jesus Christ! I’ll never forget the thrill I felt when I realized my childhood dream really will come true some day.

My next jewel is of a different nature. It comes from Jesus’ parable, "The Rich Man and Lazarus." According to the story, there was a wealthy man who wore expensive clothes and ate luscious food every day. A beggar named Lazarus used to sit at the gate of his mansion hoping to eat the crumbs from his table.

Eventually both men died. Angels carried Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom (Paradise), but the rich man ended up in hell. Although he was in great torment in hell, he could see Lazarus far away in Paradise, and he asked Abraham to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his tongue. Abraham explained this request was impossible because a great gulf separated them.

Then the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s home to warn his five brothers about hell. He was certain they would listen to someone who had come back from the dead. But Abraham answered, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." (Luke 16:19-31)

There the story seemed to end. Request denied. No appeal. No hope.

But, in fact, the merciful, loving God who reigns over the universe did what Abraham refused to do. For there lived in those days a man named Lazarus. He was a close friend of Jesus, and he died. But the real Lazarus, unlike the fictional Lazarus, did rise from the dead. Jesus called him forth from his tomb and he came out, still bound in his grave clothes.

It touches my heart that, even though Jesus didn’t resurrect the Lazarus in His parable and even though God knew it was an exercise in futility, still He said, "Yes! Yes, I’ll raise Lazarus from the dead. Yes, I’ll let him return to the land of the living and sound a warning to his generation." Lazarus’ generation crucified the very Son of God, but it wasn’t because God failed to warn them of the hell that lies beyond this life.

Last, I’d like to tell you about a whole collection of jewels. Many years ago I heard a missionary speak words that burned into my memory. I don’t remember the missionary’s name or the country he served, but he said that people everywhere - people we consider primitive - ask all the same questions we do. "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" "Where am I going?"

Those questions demand to be answered. They can haunt us, frustrate us, even drive us crazy if they go unanswered. Yet each question has a simple, straightforward explanation in the pages of the Bible. Like jewels, the answers lie hidden, just below the surface, waiting to be discovered. For "...in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3)

Readers are invited to share their jewels in the comments section below.