Hidden Treasure

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46 ESV). Perhaps you have been following the story that has re-surfaced in a number of publications recently concerning the drawing believed to be by Michelangelo. An article in the New York Times states: In the ultimate case of finding treasure in the attic, a visiting museum director from Scotland on a busman's holiday in New York sifted through old boxes of drawings of light fixtures at the Cooper-Hewitt design museum and has discovered what several experts agree is a work by Michelangelo. The museum bought the drawing in 1942 as part of a batch of decorative designs from P. & D. Colnaghi, a London dealer, paying $60. (Michelangelo drawings sell for millions of dollars now.) Colnaghi considered it an anonymous 16th-century Italian work. That dealer had acquired it in 1921 at Sotheby's in an auction from the collection of Lord Amherst of Hackney. Many museums have vast collections that go unstudied because they lack the staff or expertise to analyze everything. The Cooper-Hewitt has more than 160,000 works on paper. "I doubt nobody had ever looked at the drawing before," Mr. Goldner said, "but nobody had looked at it correctly." If this drawing is ever authenticated, it will be worth millions of dollars! What a find! In our reading for this morning, Jesus uses two illustrations to explain the Kingdom of Heaven. There are two things that immediately strike me as I meditate on these verses this morning. First, the Kingdom of Heaven is very valuable. That seems to go without saying, however it bears repeating. Often it is easy to lose sight of the value of things yet realized in the face of those things that we now possess. The very nature of the future keeps us from truly being able to understand how valuable it is. Heaven is so valuable; however, it is worth our doing anything to possess it! The wonder of God’s grace is that we don’t need to really do anything to possess this treasure. God has “done” all of that on our behalf through the work of Christ. All that remains for us is to accept His gift. Second, the Kingdom of Heaven may be overlooked. Like the Michelangelo, heaven may be passed by without our noticing it. For sixty years this incredibly valuable drawing lay in a box marked “lighting fixtures,” as if it were no more than someone’s doodling! In both of Jesus’ examples, the treasure was not readily apparent. The finders were looking for it! So it was with the discovery of the Michelangelo. The curator who discovered it was looking for a treasure! Are you looking for heaven? If you are, you will not be disappointed. You will find it in Jesus. Then, once found, do whatever it takes to possess it! It will be worth it!