Some of the best stories that have been written are about the discovery of a hidden treasure. Treasure Island was one of my favorite books when I was growing up. That book inspired many adventures I would have with my friends pretending to look for a buried treasure. And you know that X always marked the spot.

In 2014 Sue and I had the privilege of visiting Xi’An China where the Terracotta Warriors are being excavated.  The Terracotta Warriors are considered an architectural discovery on the same level as King Tut's Tomb in Egypt. The interesting thing about it is that no one knew they were there until they were accidentally discovered in 1974 by a farmer working in a field. He had no idea that he was standing on thousands of soldier statues that were over 2000 years old. The treasure was not obvious to anyone but was of infinite worth once it was discovered.

In our text this week, Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus uses two parables to relate how we can find spiritual treasure. Like the discovery of hidden treasure, spiritual treasure is not obvious to the person searching for something. But, once discovered we will see the invite value to the treasure.  In both parables the person who discovered the treasure joyfully sold all they had to acquire the treasure. They completely let go of all they had been depending on for their existence in life to possess this one great treasure. The implied question from Jesus to us is, are we willing to let go of the things we think we need for our existence on this earth to gain spiritual treasure? Join me this Sunday as we consider Jesus’ teaching on How to Find Real Treasure.