In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the story about a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field, and he is so excited that the sells everything that he has to buy the field, and get the treasure. It was common for people to bury their treasures in ancient times, as it was the safest way to protect their money from constant wars and raids where soldiers would come through and take whatever they wanted. But sometimes people would die before they could retrieve their treasure, and so it would remain buried in the ground until some lucky person came along and found it.

Because of this, stories of hidden treasure were popular in Jesus’ time and everybody dreamed of finding treasure, similar to how many people today dream of winning the lotto. And that’s exactly what happens to this guy – he hits the jackpot, and he finds the treasure.

On the surface, it seems like the point of this parable is that having a relationship with God is the greatest hidden treasure, and that we need to be willing to give up everything to get it. But when Jesus told the story, the guy who found the treasure was actually himself. And the treasure that he had found was every person who has ever lived, including you and I. And so just like the guy in the parable, Jesus was willing to give up everything that he had, to get that treasure. This is exactly what Jesus did, when he came down from heaven and gave his life for us on the cross.
Friend, you are the greatest treasure, that God gave up everything for. In the words of the well known verse:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai
Chaplain