The Treasure of God's JOY

           Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  When we discover the treasure of His JOY…nothing else compares!

            Jesus told the Parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13:44.  A whole story in one verse! Short, to the point, but packed FULL of truth and joy.  Here are his words:

 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field”.

 In a peasant community back in the time of Jesus, the best safe was often the earth.  The man in the parable "went in his joy" to sell everything. Why?  Because he found an invaluable treasure!  He did not have enough to buy the treasure. But, fortunately, he only needed enough to buy the field. In a similar fashion, God offers his kingdom as incomparable treasure at a price we can afford! We can't pay the full price for the life which God gives us; but when we exchange our life for the life which God offers, we receive a treasure beyond compare. 

Selling all that we have to obtain this treasure could mean giving up certain friends, our job, our lifestyle. Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. The Lord himself is the treasure we should seek. In the book of Job we read:   “If the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty” (Job 22:25-26).

Is the Lord the treasure, delight and joy of your heart?

http://www.rc.net/wcc/parable3.htm