Treasure hunters will go to great lengths to unearth a treasure. Some may travel the far corners of the world to find the precious gem, risk life and limb, sacrifice rest and self, to excavate what they believe to be of great worth.
What may look like nothing to an untrained eye, is sheer beauty to the one who knows its worth.
The treasure seeker will dig through earth, rocks, sand, and soil, to lay hold of the prize. When they have unearthed it, they carefully lift it with their hands, as to not damage it. Upon first sight, it is covered in dirt, caked with years of debris. But with delicate hands, they will clean it, polish it, restore it back to it’s original beauty, and preserve it.
Why do treasure hunters do this? Because they recognize the value. Some treasures are worth far more value than most are willing to pay.
The kingdom of heaven is like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44
God did this. He is the greatest treasure hunter. He placed such value on each of us, He was willing to go through great lengths to find us, unearth us, and bring us back to our natural beauty. He sent His Son to take such a beating for us, to go into the earth for three days, to bring us up from the grasp of the thief, to restore us, reconcile us, and bring us back to our created purpose.
Even when we were caked in the soil of the world, drowning in our sins, wrapped in the bondage of our hurts, rejected and abandoned as unworthy, He saw us and He restored us. He looked beyond the outward, He looked into our hearts and He placed His strong gentle hands on us and He declared… this one is Mine.
Then He placed us on display. Paraded us past the enemy and held the banner of Love over us.
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31
Who is our neighbor? The person who has need, the poor one, the broken one, the sick one, the one who can never repay…
How about those who are closest to us? Those we know so well, we know their imperfections, their quirks, their hang-ups, the one who has hurt us? What about them?
I submit to you, one of the main causes for break-ups, divorce, and division is we fail to see beyond the outward to look at the heart. For if we truly desired to be like Christ, we would delicately unearth the heart, speak words of compassion, create a safe environment, and allow God to use us to bring healing to the wounded hearts. We just might find a treasure of great worth, if we truly followed the words of Mark 12:30-31.
We are all broken vessels, but in the hands of God, we will shine with such brilliance hell will be blinded, relationship’s restored, ministries birthed, and the Glory of the Lord would rest on us and bring great revival, healing, deliverance, and salvation to many.
Be a minister He can use. With the same grace given to you, give to others. For inside each of us is something far more valuable than money can buy. Only through love can a heart shine.
Crooked Places Straight 