Have you ever seen someone walking along the beach with a metal detector, sweeping over the sand in their path? If you strike up a conversation with someone who’s been pursuing that practice for a while, they will be able to tell you of all the weird and wonderful things they have found.
Most of the hobbyists with metal detectors are not really treasure hunters, though I’m sure they would be glad to find something of real value now and then, and not just an oddity or an ancient bottle cap.
Some people are serious treasure hunters, diving deep in search of shipwrecks that might still hold a trove of gold or jewels. Some people sift through silt in mountain streams, panning for gold.
Whole industries are engaged in treasure hunting although they call it resource extraction. What are commercial mining and drilling and dredging operations if not treasure hunting done on a massive scale?
We are all treasure hunters of a sort, looking for something worth holding onto. It might not be wealth or fame. We might be looking for love, or peace of mind, or a happy family; all these and more are the treasures we seek.
Jesus told a story about a person who was looking for pearls. When he found the treasure he sought, he divested himself of everything to possess it.
Whatever treasure we seek, the quest costs us a piece of ourselves. Mostly we spend it a little at a time – an hour here or there chasing a dream. Some go all-in. For them the cost of the treasure hunt is a long career of striving, or a life-long quest.
Whether the treasure you seek is grand or modest, you will end up paying for it with your life. The time you give in pursuit of the treasure you seek is its true value. Your life, paid out day by day, is all any of us has to spend.
As you continue the quest, it would be a good idea to be sure you are seeking a real treasure.
Prayer: I’m tired of sifting through sand for treasures that turn out to be old junk. Help me focus on seeking for real treasure… because this quest is costing me my life. Amen.