treasure hunt

I few days ago I read the following verse from Luke: “…where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (12:34). I’ve been thinking about that.

All my life up to this point I’ve read that verse and thought of it in very financial terms. Like heaven is a bank or something. Transactions are made in the form of good and bad actions on my part. When I do good things, I’m making a sort of deposit in the Jesus account and when I screw something up, I make a withdraw. Makes sense, right? By that rational, Jesus is saying, “Do good things because ultimately there’s something in it for you.”

Very Dr. Phil.

But since reading this verse a few days ago I’ve been thinking about it more like a pirate might. I’ve been thinking about my treasure as something out there, something hidden or buried, something I have to find. I’ve been thinking that maybe God isn’t talking about some mutual fund in the sky but something else. Something with a little more adventure to it. Something risky.

Okay, so back to the pirates. Pirates hunt for treasure, right? (Go with me on this one for a bit.) That’s the typical pirate thing. There’s treasure out there and they have some kind of a map and it’s mostly clear, but not totally clear, so there’s some guess work to it, too, and they look for treasure. It’s usually buried and sometimes not in the most obvious spot. Frequently the hunt is dangerous and only the pirate willing to risk life and limb, willing to sail around the world, willing to do whatever it takes to find that treasure or dying trying, only that pirate will succeed.

The Seven Habit of Highly Successful Pirates, The Abridged Version.

Point is, they take chances and they pay a cost and finding the treasure is work, but it’s worth it. In a sense, because they risk so much and because they are so passionate in their pursuit, their hearts are tied to that treasure. It’s an obsession to them. It’s what they want, even need.

What if relationship with God is more like that? What if the point is to be engaged in a hunt, a seeking for Him that involves risk and chance, work and pain and, ultimately, reward, but not the reward of mansions in the sky and streets of gold but the reward of Him? Being with Him, knowing Him, being known by Him? What if that’s what it’s all about?

If that’s what Jesus is saying, then the point changes. It’s more like, “Seek God passionately, with all your heart, because He is the treasure and your heart should be tied to Him.” I’ve got nothing against banks, but I think I like that interpretation better.