Blog

Written by Lisa Mason
on 17th January 2022

Matthew 13:44

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Close your eyes and imagine this scene for a moment. There you are, working the soil, working in your master’s field, digging and sweating. CLINK! Your spade has hit something solid. You dig and work harder, forgetting your tiredness. There’s a lid, a chest, you uncover more and now you are eager to get at this object. You pull the chest from the ground, the lid opens easily and inside there is treasure beyond worth, an aladdin’s cave of riches.

Your mind works fast. This treasure would set you up for life. But the field is not yours, it would cost all that you have to buy it. It doesn’t take you two seconds to decide. You bury the treasure, return home and sell absolutely everything you own with an enormous grin on your face. People are confused ‘Won’t you need this bed?’ ‘Didn’t you want that lawnmower?’ You are just not fussed. Nothing is worth the same as it was yesterday, all that you had previously lived and worked to gain now seems worthless compared to the riches you stumbled upon in that field.

During our bible study together this Sunday, we read the story in Genesis 3 of the terrible moment in the garden when Adam and Eve choose to ignore God’s instructions to them and eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

What struck me from the story, as I listened to it being read out loud and then meditated on it throughout the day, was the incredible way that God showed up that evening in the garden. He already knew what his people had done. He had every right to turn his back on them and walk away or destroy them and the world that he had made. But he showed up, in their pain and confusion, he clothed them, and put boundaries in place to protect them from themselves.

God stepped into that garden, knowing that it would cost him everything to keep investing in his relationship with his people.

Time and again when we sin and make mistakes, when we deliberately choose to ignore God’s best plans for our lives and do things our own way, God shows up in our mess and our brokenness. He covers our shame and pays the price for our sin. He gives his whole and perfect self in exchange for our own imperfection and rebellion.

When we find this, when we truly find and receive this kind of love, we are undone. We are all in. We have nothing to hide, nothing to withhold. The leaves are stripped off. We are seen, known and embraced and we know that we have found the only thing worth living for.

Friends, we have treasure that is worth more than life itself. We have the love of God, the blood of his Son, the presence of his Spirit - all given in exchange for our disobedience, sin and rebellion.

What are we hanging on to today that is stopping us from receiving this gift with open hands?

What are we treasuring and working for that we could be giving up and letting go of?

Who do we know that needs to hear about the treasure in the field?