Articles
The Treasure of God's Way
Typically, a treasure is something for which a person searches diligently, and upon finding it, rejoices greatly. Treasure is valued because it is rare, it can be difficult to discover, and it is of great worth. At times, we can be guilty of treasuring the wrong sort of treasure. Jesus said that we should not store up treasure on earth. Instead, we should store up treasure in heaven which will not rust and decay (Matthew 6:19-21).
This brings us to an important question: What do I treasure? What do I spend most of my time pursuing? What is it that motivates me to keep digging deep until I find it? For some, it might be wealth. Maybe for others, it is career success or notoriety. Some might value family, or relationships, above all else. What do I treasure?
Psalm 119 is a long Hebrew poem, reflecting on how God has revealed Himself. The poem works its way through the Hebrew alphabet, praising the goodness of God’s word. Within the poem, God’s way is portrayed as being that which should be pursued above all else. The commandments of God should be “treasured” because they are the reason we have “rejoiced” (Psalm 119:14). The way of God should be regarded as “riches” (Psalm 119:14).
When we read Scripture, or when we spend time in prayer, are we joyful? Do we regard those moments with the same excitement as someone who stumbles upon treasure and riches? The people of God should rejoice in the commandments of God. Sin enters the story of the Bible, and into the story of our own lives, when we stop rejoicing in the commandments of God. When God’s commandments no longer excite us we will begin viewing them as a burden rather a blessing. The next step is that we disregard God’s way and decide to pursue something that we think will give us more satisfaction. But ultimately, the path of attempting to serve ourselves is never satisfying.
I would assume that if you came across treasure, you would be joyful! You would be excited! You would probably tell somebody! This is the attitude we should have toward picking up the Bible. The problem is, we sometimes allow our familiarity with the Bible to get in the way of our excitement. If we’re not careful, we stop viewing it as newfound treasure, and start thinking about it as something familiar which we have seen many times before. Let’s not make that tragic mistake.
God’s way should be viewed as treasure. That being the case, we ought to treasure it in our hearts.
