Writing Tonight

I am continuing my writing vigil this week, locked away alone in a condo in Orlando. I slept from six until nine this evening and have been writing until now, 3:20 AM. I'm going to bed now and will start again in the morning. I'm encouraged by how things are progressing and believe that this resource will be useful in helping people grow in intimacy with their Father.

Here's an excerpt from what I've written today (or is it yesterday?):

You Are Special

Do you want to see how special you are to your Father? Consider this verse in the Bible. Jesus said:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all thathe has and buys that field" (Matthew13:44).

Answer these questions about that scenario:

1. What is the hidden treasure? __________________________________________

2. Who sells what he has and buys the field? _______________________________

For many years, I thought that the treasure in this story is Jesus. My viewpoint was that gaining Him is worth giving up everything in this life. I believed the story suggested that we should be willing to turn to Him, regardless of the cost. After all, I reasoned, it will be worth it!

I hope you didn't answer that way because nothing could be further from the truth. The treasure isn't Jesus. The treasure is you! You might feel some internal resistance to my suggestion of such a thing, but it's true. You are the treasure. The field in this example is the world (see Matthew 13:38) and the one who is overcome with joy about owning this treasure is Jesus.

How can we be sure about this? Because the treasure was paid for by the one who received it. That means the treasure couldn't possibly be Jesus. You didn't buy Him; He bought you! The Bible plainly says that, "you have been bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

It's amazing how we tend to want to make everything be about ourselves. We interpret Scripture so that we come out on top in the story. For instance, how many times have you heard The Story of the Good Samaritan told with the application being made that we are to be the Good Samaritan? The fact is that story teaches no such thing. Our role in that story was that of the man lying on the ground, wounded and bleeding. The Good Samaritan is Jesus. The law and prophets saw us lying there and knew our condition, but didn't solve our problem. They could diagnose it, but they couldn't help it. Jesus did. We didn't come along and find Him. He found us and saved us from certain death.