Treasuring God

On the first day of the week, two disciples walked along the road heading away from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  They discussed and could make no sense of what had happened:  during the Passover feast, Jesus had been arrested, crucified and buried in a tomb.  Luke 24:15-17 reads, "So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  It is fitting their discussion and reasoning resulted in sadness because they did not realise or believe Jesus was risen, alive and walking with them.

There are things in life that do not make sense to us, no matter how much we obsess or think it over.  The disciples talked, reasoned and perhaps vented but it did not change the reality the one they believed would redeem Israel was dead, nor could they understand why it happened.  Jesus knew beforehand what His crucifixion and resurrection would accomplish, and He graciously drew near to open the scriptures so these sorrowing disciples would have a change of heart and mind.  This was not an isolated incident, for God still speaks through His word and the power of the Holy Spirit.  We should not "hope" for an experience with God as if we could be disappointed, but we ought to expect to hear from God every time we read the Bible because God has spoken and the Holy Spirit lives within us.

As a kid I enjoyed reading Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson.  One strip illustrates well six-year old Calvin's perpetual joy for life.  Calvin, wearing a pith helmet, was digging for buried treasure.  In Calvin's words he found “a few dirty rocks, a weird root, and some disgusting grubs.”  His stuffed tiger Hobbes asked, “On your first try?”  Calvin enthusiastically replied, “There’s treasure everywhere!”  While rocks and grubs can be interesting for a little boy, nothing compares to the treasure of God and His word.  When we open the Bible we hold in our hands God's divinely inspired words of life that sets hearts on fire with awe and joy.  God has comfort for broken hearts, revelations for the believing seeker and hope for the future regardless of circumstances.

When we open God's word in a humble posture in faith, by God's grace we can receive truth and wisdom beyond the reasoning of men that is profound and intellectually satisfying.  We find, not so much an answer to life's questions, but a God who loves us and is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  God is the treasure we ought to value over all.  Unlike treasures on earth which are hoarded and kept for ourselves, God is the treasure we joyfully share with all.