Finding Treasures

     I was out in the woods again this morning, crawling over the rocks in an area that I don’t visit often. I was following a game trail through an area littered by huge car size boulders. As I stepped over a boulder I was surprised to see a beautiful geode stone. The sharp hooves of deer and other game had chipped away at the soft slate like rock exposing the geode. The geode was already cracked open, evidently by animal’s hooves. With a little searching around I was able to find the other parts of the geode.

     I have never been much of a rock hound, but my curiosity was aroused. I went back to the house and got a masonry hammer and returned to the area and started chipping away at the bolder. With a few minutes of digging I uncovered several additional whole geode stones. Not knowing how fragile the geodes were, I hit one with my hammer to break it open. It exploded into a thousand pieces. I took a second geode and hit it with a much lighter blow, only to see it also explode in many small pieces. Being attuned to the rock treasures I was able to locate several additional interesting rock formations in the area. I have since checked out several gem and mineral sites on the web. I even considered joining the Austin Gem & Mineral Society, but decided I already have enough hobbies to keep me busy.

     Finding my rock treasures in the woods reminded me of a treasure story in the Bible. In Matthew 13:44, Jesus tells a parable about a man who found a valuable treasure that was hidden in a field. The man hid the treasure again, so no one else would find it. He then went and sold everything he had to raise enough money to buy the field. He was then able to go and claim his treasure! Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like this hidden treasure.
     The kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God is a state that we exist in when we are living for Christ. When people see and understand the value of living for Christ they are willing to do anything to attain that state, just as the man was willing to sell all that he had to take possession of the treasure in the field.
     We Christians in America have suffered very little as a result of our living for Christ. This is not the case in other countries. In my recent travel to China I was told by my Chinese friend that people in China could be arrested for talking about God or religion. I was surprised to find a Bible in the nightstand drawer of a hotel in Shanghai, China. It was evidently left by a previous guest. I took the Bible out of the drawer and left it on top of the nightstand. When I returned to the room that evening, the Bible was gone. I supposed that it was put back in the drawer, but could not locate it. I guess the housecleaning people took the Bible.
     We are blessed with religious freedom in America. Please pray for those in the world who today risk their very lives to live for Christ!