Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. – Matthew 13:44
I was twelve years old when World War II began. People started to do many things for the war effort. One was to plant what was commonly called a “victory garden.” People dug up their backyards and parking strips and planted vegetable, fruit and herb gardens. Since these plots of ground often had never been used as a garden before, preparing the area took a lot of work. However, I can remember one time when there was quite a payoff for the effort invested. One block from where I lived, a buried chest filled with old guns was found as the family there was digging up their backyard. Even before the war, my dad had a garden, and he would ask my brother and me to spade up the ground—a job that I hated. However, when I heard about the buried treasure discovered down the street, you can imagine the excitement as I dug up our backyard, hoping to find a hidden treasure.
The Bible tells us that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure buried in a field. This treasure is worth far more than a chest of old guns or any other valuable find we might make. The good part is that, according to Scripture, we can all buy that field with the treasure. God has offered it to everyone in the world! The price to the man in the Bible account was to sell all that he had to buy the field. The price for that treasure is the same for everyone: the rich, the poor, the young and old. We must “sell all” by repenting of our sins, telling Jesus we are sorry, and giving Him our whole life.
When we have found this treasure, we want to take care of it daily. We take care of it by reading the Bible, praying, going to God’s house, and letting our light shine. As we do this, the treasure will never diminish in value. And the best part is, along with this treasure comes God’s promise of eternal life in Heaven!