Entrusted with treasure.

Long have people been lured with the promise of gold and jewels, treasures to bring wealth and prosperity.  Conquistadors traveled vast oceans to reach the Americas with the promise of gold and fountains of youth.  Pioneers and miners traveled thousands of miles of uninhabited land to try and strike it rich.  Likewise, do we not, even today, hold out hope for that one lottery ticket that will bring in an influx of funds.  Even our entertainment feeds us this story with Aladdin in the Cave of Wonders and tales of King Solomon's Mines and the untold wealth of the Knights Templar.  

The word treasure brings, to my mind at least, thoughts of buried pirates' treasure, crowns of gold, sparkling jewels, and ropes of pearls.  Every definition I have found for the word treasure brings to mind similar ideas; whether in English, Greek or Hebrew, the word treasure refers to something precious, valuable, often hidden, and a source of provision.  

We are told in Matthew 6, “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (19-21).  

Later in the epistles of Paul, we find verses like 2 Corinthians 4:7, which says, "Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us."  And in Paul's first letter to Timothy, he writes, "Instruct them [the rich] to [store] up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life" (6:18-19).  

All of these verses speak of treasure, but what sort of treasure does not rust or tempt thieves?  What treasure is kept in a clay jar rather than a secure vault?  How does treasure relate to “what is truly life?”  These verses make me think God’s views on treasure are vastly different than a human’s perspective.  If we back up to the book of Isaiah, we read, “There will be times of security for you – a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.  The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure” (33:6).  Here we see a new definition of treasure: the fear of the Lord.  The type of fear that inspires awe, reverence, and deep respect.  

Paul adds to the definition when he writes to the Thessalonians and says, "Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts" (1 Thes. 2:4).  And later in 1 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy to “guard what has been entrusted to [him]” (6:20).  Paul very clearly states that the treasure God has given us is salvation through the gospel of Christ.  It is a treasure that must be carefully guarded, not carelessly left lying about like yesterday’s clothes.  

As I researched the various Greek and Hebrew words that have been translated into our English word “entrusted,” I noticed a curious pattern.  The definitions were things like committing something into one’s care, a deposit, something given to someone for faithful keeping, to give into another’s care or protection.  

These definitions reminded me of Jesus' final words from the cross, "'Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.'"  This instance is perhaps the most heart-wrenching example of entrusting someone with something precious.  And what could have been more special than the very spirit of Christ?  What about your own soul?  

It is because of Christ’s decision to be born, live, and die as God Incarnate in a human body that we even have access to the treasure of salvation.  For God so loved you and me, He gave us the gift of His Son’s life, death, and resurrection so that we might have everlasting life with Him.  When we accept God's most precious gift, God entrusts us in turn with this treasure of immeasurable worth in a mere clay jar, our own frail human bodies.  We are entrusted with the gospel itself, a trust to faithfully keep and pass on to others.

Have you ever considered that you carry within yourself the most precious treasure of all?  How faithfully have you kept the treasure entrusted to you?