Dear Ones:
If a treasure is buried what is it worth? Of what use is a candle put under a basket, or money that is deliberately hidden in a field and never used?
Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure it, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Paul wrote, “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)
What is this treasure? It is the very life of God. We see this life in the face of Jesus Christ. It is that which is invisible, and yet was manifested in Him. It is that which is of heaven, but was revealed and made known on this earth, And so, our greatest treasure is not material, nor of this earth. It is that which is of heaven, the knowledge of Jesus Christ by the Spirit.
When a person comes to Christ, the Father places that person in an inseparable union with the Son of God. The Treasure comes to live within the heart. We are one with Christ. The hymn “Before the Throne of God Above“ says it best in the last stanza:
“One with Himself, I cannot die:
My soul is purchased by His blood:
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.”
Listen: (Selah – Before The Throne Of God Above [with lyrics])
We are given eternal life and we cannot die by virtue of His indestructible Life in our hearts.
Hudson Taylor was the founder of the China Inland Mission. At a certain point in his life Taylor was very perplexed and distressed. He knew that he was IN Christ, he knew that he had ALL in Him. He knew that he was complete in Him. But, in his experience and ministry, regardless of all that he tried, he sensed that his efforts fell short. And then it came to him, that it was not an issue of striving, but of resting in the Faithful One.
It is for this reason that on the sands of Brighton in England the Lord spoke to Taylor. The weight of reaching China for Christ was bearing down upon him. The Lord simply told him to walk before Him, and HE would evangelize inland China through him. This is the key. We are to live in the reality of our union with Christ, and derive all from Him by an inward aspiration of faith.
The Treasure is BEFORE us in heaven. The Treasure is IN us by the Spirit. Let us not bury it or hide it. Let us take God at His word and trust Him to teach us how to receive by faith all that we need in Christ. In this way His life will shine through ours. The world does not need us. They need Christ. What better way to know that He lives than to see the reality of His life being revealed in us…by faith.
Love,
Dad