Hidden Treasure

http://uawchaplain.weebly.com/weekly-devotional.html

I wanted to share with you my husband Jim's devotional that he wrote for this week:

There was a poor man, in a small rundown home, that lived alone and was discouraged and broken. As he looked around he said, “There is nothing of value in this old house, no family, no friends, no money”. He yelled loudly and asked, “God, why am I even here, were are my treasures?” In frustration the man fell to his knees and cried out, “Why is my life this way? I have nothing and I am nothing.” “I have heard your cry”, God answered “the treasure you seek I have already put in this very house“. The man jumped to his feet half startled and half excited not knowing if he was hearing things or if he should look for his treasure. “Look for the treasure” he tells himself as he looked around the poorly lit room.

Walking over to the only thing in the room, he pulled the tattered couch forward to look behind and beneath it, and then removes the flattened cushions just to find wrappers and a few pennies. “It must have been God, it had to be“, he thought to himself. The treasure hunt continued as he ran into the bathroom and slid open the shower curtain only to be surprised that it too was empty. “I know the bedroom“, he quickly made his way to the bed. “Ok, let’s see, maybe under the bed“! Laying flat on his stomach he looked and spotted old boxes and lots of dust, but no treasure.

Heart pounding with excitement, he knew that there was only one place left to look; the closet. He made his way to the closet and slowly opened the door to see before his eyes nothing but empty hangers. Confused he said out loud, “I’ve checked the whole house God, where is the treasure?” Emotionally drained, the man collapsed on the bed and gave up. Once again God spoke to him, “the treasure is in this house”. The man hopelessly slid to the edge of the bed, rested his head in his hands and sat with his eyes closed. He whispered, “But God, where? Where is the treasure?” God whispered back, “look up and you will see it”. The man slowly raised his head and opened his eyes, there before him was the treasure. Across from him was a mirror on the wall reflecting back to him his own image.

“For you see my son, you are the treasure. You are my treasure! The things of this world are meaningless. Money, good looks, jobs and material things are all meaningless to me. The treasure in this old house and in this whole world is you.” Tears began to roll down the man’s face; tears of happiness and hope as the man finally understood what God has tried to tell him all along, that he is God’s treasure.

Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.