The greatest treasure of all

When we are young, we have the impression that we are eternal. However, whether we are old, young or even children, our days are counted on earth. No matter how healthy we are, none of us will get out of this world alive. Life is a journey towards death — this is the reality nobody wants to face.
Especially nowadays, with so much violence, so many diseases, and accidents; young people dying outside nightclubs, driving drunk, breaking up fights, or even being hit by a stray bullet; teens using weapons that they’ve seen in video games to kill dozens of children in primary schools; young people being affected by stroke, heart attacks and other things that used to be associated with old age, and that are more common now than ever; terrible eating habits and a destructive lifestyle: very little exercise, too much stress, divorce, indiscipline, etc.
Some have the opportunity to hear about Jesus when they are old and living in nursing homes. There, they open the hearts, for their circumstances have taught them humility. They’ve seen eighty, ninety years pass in a blink. No matter how long we live, it always passes too quickly. They see death more often than you and me, as they never know whether the patient next door will wake up the following morning. And when will it be your turn? What is the difference between them and us? If you think about it, there’s no difference.
Death can come at any time. Contrary to what many people think, not always is there enough time to repent on their deathbed, because not always is there a deathbed. You can die in a second, anywhere. Unfortunately, not everyone is aware of this, and so they live life as if it would never end.
People who waste their time with nitpicking and nonsense, holding grudges, badmouthing others, worrying about what others will think or the newspapers will say about the church, or simply contemplating their own navel, do not realize that they are shifting their focus from what really matters. Do you know where your soul is going?
Are you sure of that? If a person makes no effort to walk with God during the few years he or she spends on this earth, how can they expect God to force them to spend eternity with Him after they die?
Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in the field. He says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” Matthew 13.44
He was an intelligent man. He found what really mattered and did not waste his time. He protected the treasure, hiding it from anyone who could steal it from him, and put all his efforts into buying that field. He was aware of the value of what he had found and immediately sacrificed all that he had, his life and his plans, with great joy, for he knew that that treasure was bigger than anything.
The treasure was hidden in a field, like salvation, which the world cannot see. Many people have gone through this field without ever having seen the treasure you have just found. Do not waste your time. Do not leave it for later. Surrender your life and seek for salvation with all your might. Perhaps you’ve been in church for many years, but have not been born of God. Perhaps you’ve left the church, or perhaps you have never believed that it is possible to have this new life. What do you have to lose? There really is a treasure hidden in the field, the key that ensures inner peace, joy and stability here on earth and for eternity. It’s now or never. You may not get another chance.
Vanessa Lampert