Treasures Lost
And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
2 Kings 22:11
A painting once hung on the walls of a home, but over time it became out of fashion and unappreciated, so the owners of the house stored it in the attic. Years later, after their deaths, when their descendants were removing their belongings from the property, it sold in a yard sale for a few dollars. The new owner of the painting, while cleaning the painting up, noticed a tell-tale signature at the bottom and quickly had it appraised. The cast out painting once sold at yard sale, later sold in an auction house for more than $10 million dollars. The original owners didn’t understand what they had, and they lost it.
We see this same story play out over and over in the Old Testament with Israel as they commit themselves to the Lord for a while, and then fall away and worship other gods. God shows His power to them through many mighty acts, and they quickly falter, choosing to worship lifeless statues. We hear these accounts, and we wonder why Israel could live that way, how they could choose to ignore the obvious power on display by God, and then we, ourselves, choose to do other things when it’s time to go to the house of the Lord. For some reason there is always a disconnect between what we can recognize in others and in ourselves.
When King Josiah found the book and realized how far Israel had drifted from God’s plan, he was devastated. Lately, as I have attended services at churches around the area, I’m seeing a similar feeling among church members. They stand and take the blame for not teaching our young ones to follow the Lord. Tearfully, they share their regret for placing more importance on worldly things than on serving God. As our young adults choose, time and time again to do other things, rather than attend church services, Sunday Night and Wednesday Night crowds become smaller and smaller. I think the fault lays squarely with those of us who have showered attention and praise on our church family as they do well in things of life outside the church, while at the same time, we fail to congratulate and praise those who make their service to the Lord a priority. We no longer do perfect attendance awards at church, We no longer make a big deal about hiding the Word in little hearts. I can remember memory verses being stuck on my parent’s refrigerator as a child. Now, even Sunday School seems to be optional for our children. That may be because we aren’t hiding the word in our own hearts.
We need to remember what God has done for us. We need to rediscover the Truth of His Word. It isn’t an old collection of rules that no longer apply to us. It’s the standard to which we will be held in eternity. It’s the true story of our redemption. The ‘old stale’ stories from the Old Testament ring so true in today’s world. The Bible stories we remember from childhood Sunday School have so much more depth when read from the stand point of a saved adult. It’s not an out of fashion book that we can ignore. It’s a priceless letter from the Creator of the Universe telling us exactly who He is, how to get to know Him better, and what He expects from us.
It might be painful, getting started. It might be convicting to look at how far we’ve let ourselves go. But if we keep at it, if we let it in, and we allow Him to begin to change us… it will quickly become the most beautiful thing we own. Our relationship with our Lord will blossom, and we will realize a depth in our God that we can’t even begin to imagine. The Word itself is beautiful, and it reveals a God that has spent the whole of eternity working to create a relationship with us. A God who, in His perfection, has created a world that allows us to ignore Him completely, and though it pains Him, it even allows us to die and go to the worst place imaginable, if that is our choice. But, Oh, the joys of living a life that puts Him first, that allows His will to be our primary concern in our lives. When we step out in faith toward Him, He reaches down and takes us to heights that we could never imagine by ourselves.
Brothers and Sisters, don’t allow that priceless treasure laying on your shelf to go unused. Don’t let your children’s inheritance to be sold at a yard sale while you worry about far less valuable things. Rediscover the best thing that ever happened to you, and share it with everyone you know.
