Seeking Treasure

Rocks! They're a seemingly natural attractant: kids love to see how far they can throw them, skip them across a pond, use them in play, or save them in a collection. 

When I was nine and on a family vacation in the Rocky Mountains, I was elated when we stopped at a gift shop. I marveled at a long aisle filled with bins of rocks and minerals. 

Eye-candy anticipation kept me glued to the displays as I picked up each colorful rock. I was in awe of the varied shapes and forms: some sleek, some shiny, some muted with variegated streaks and colors, but all unique in appearance.

 Then, I saw it—a glistening, shining rock at the bottom of a bin of small river stones. I picked up the rock, it's yellow-gold slivers gleamed brightly in the light. This was the most beautiful rock I’d ever seen. I'd just found a treasure—surely it was gold!   

Giddy, I excitedly ran over to my father. "I think I found gold, Daddy!” I exclaimed, holding up the rock for him to see. 

He looked at it and smiled. “Sorry, Honey," he said. "It's a very pretty rock, but it's not gold. It's called ‘Iron Pyrite,’ otherwise known as ‘Fool’s Gold.’” He handed the rock back to me.

“Fool’s Gold?” I replied.

“Yes," he said. "It's called Fool's Gold because people are fooled by it's appearance. Just like you, they think it's gold."   

“Yeah. Darn!" I exclaimed. “If only it was gold, because it sure is pretty!"  

“It is. If you'd like it for your rock collection, we can buy it," my father replied.  

I gladly agreed and was happy to go home with the “Fool’s Gold.”

Treasure! Whether young or old, we seek treasure, hoping to find things of great value in our lives. But, sometimes we are enticed by things that appear valuable, but aren't. Like Fool's Gold.  

Some people spend their lives searching for the “wrong kind of treasure." In the Book of Matthew in the Bible,  Jesus has an important message for us about searching for the right kind of treasure: 

“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 is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21

A striking part of the verse, to me, is the last line: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  It's a good reminder for us to do a "heart check." Are we seeking the right kind of treasure?

May we be seekers of the true treasure that is found through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 
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Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com

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