Treasure

"For thus says the Lord: "You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money" Isaiah 52:3

I came across this verse the other day. It's in a chapter where God addresses His people telling them that after all the terrrible things they had been through, that they had brought upon themselves, that God was going to redeem them. He was going to give back to them what they had lost through their rebellion and bad choices.

It was a much needed reminder. I had lately begun doubting God, slipping into negative thinking, apathy and a bad attitude. All because I wasn't getting my way. I wanted what I wanted. Right now. I had been losing patience waiting on God to answer prayers. I was feeling very restricted by my lack. And I was blaming God for it.

And then I read this verse. And I realized. The things I had been praying for? waiting impatiently for? doubting God about? They are nothings. None of the stuff I deemed so important is eternal. Money? I can't take it with me. I very much doubt that the currency of Heaven is the almighty American dollar. In fact, even now, here on earth it is very much an ephemeral thing. Here today, gone tomorrow. Things? Again, nothing I can take with me. Nothing that lasts. Time? Well, we only have a finite amount of it here on earth and there is no way to keep from losing it as every second passes.

This is who we are, what we do. We trade the things that matter for the things that don't. We sell ourselves for nothing. We trade time ( a very valuable commodity) and pieces of ourselves for money, for things, for the praise of men. We compromise our honor and integrity for a move up the corporate ladder. We trade quality time with those we love for time at work hoping to get noticed, hoping for a raise. We trade pieces of ourselves, our souls for a little attention and praise from people who we don't even allow to really know us. We trade our bodies for what we call love and we trade our freedom to choose for our own convenience.
We sell what is valuable for what has no value or honor.

But here is what I love about this verse. It reveals our God. It reveals our own value and His. We give away that which we were given by Him for things that don't last and in the end don't matter. But He redeems us. And He redeems us not with money, a thing of unstable value. But He ransoms us back and all that we sold of ourselves with the one thing He holds most valuable. The blood of His Son. He isn't trying to get us back by giving up something of no value. No. He gives up what is most precious. Our value to Him is revealed in what He gives up to get us back.

And here is the irony of that. We are His treasure, worth anything and everything. We are valuable because He has chosen to value us, to love us. He imputes significance to us. We are nothing without Him. But do you know what I realized? It is He who is our treasure. Ironically, we chase that which doesn't matter and doesn't last, when He is the real treasure we should be pursuing. He is the only thing that matters, the only thing that really lasts.

Why? Because He love us. He. Loves. Us. Can you understand the incalculable significance of that? We have what we really want but don't even realize that it is ours or even that we want it. What are we all searching for? What does all human kind seek to find? Acceptance, love, significance, purpose, the gleam of pride in someone's eye over us. And we want it unconditionally. We want to be loved and accepted no matter what we do. We want to be seen. We want someone, anyone to look past the face we put on to the heart of who we are. We want to be understood. We want to be found by someone who will look at us and say, " Here he/she is! This is the one I've been waiting for, looking for, hoping for. Finally!" We want someone who we can trust, who can be our best friend. Someone that we can share our secrets with, our fears with. Someone who will look at us and not see our flaws and weaknesses but who will see the best of who we can be. We want someone who will fight for us, who will fight with us for that which matters. We want relationship, even though we don't know it. We want respect, praise and a safe place. We want a home. We want to share life with someone we can relate to, who will laugh at our corny jokes and understand without words when we just need some space. The list goes on.

But every single thing we want? He is. He meets every requirement, every need. He is what we have been waiting for, what we have been searching for. He is the real thing to all the substitutes that we sold ourselves for only to end up with nothing. And He wants us more than even we want Him. He loves us more than we can even comprehend, more than we can imagine. And just like us, He wants to be found. But instead of waiting for us to come find Him, He has actively been pursuing us. It's a treasure hunt we can not lose. Because the treasure is not even trying to hide. It is chasing us and all we have to do is turn around and claim it. Everything we've ever longed for right within our reach, right there. Waiting.

He loves us. And although He value us more than His own life, He is the real treasure.