Devotion for April 18

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field… Matthew 13:44

I found a treasure in the bookcase. Clothed in a plastic cover to protect the dust jacket, the old library markings inked out in black, the book doesn’t look like much. Seeing it, I remembered immediately where we got it.

Across from the Guthrie County Court House is the city library. I don’t recall why we were at the courthouse, but we saw the sign for the library sale and went in. I picked up this old novel by Chaim Potok, The Book of Lights. I put it in the bookcase at the lake. That was over two years ago. Last week I opened that book. What a treasure! As I recall, the book cost me fifty cents… for a treasure I’d stumbled on and hid in a bookcase, not really knowing its value.

I’ve been thinking about treasures ever since, especially the ones we so often find in the worn out binders or bookcases we take for granted.

This past weekend, I read a prayer card that said “Thank God for the treasure of our marriage.” Yes… that’s what I’m talking about. Somehow a couple had reconnected, opened the dust jacket of their relationship and discovered the treasure of love.

Watching my wife laboring over papers for the end of term, my heart swelled and I claimed another treasure. Seeing my grandchildren come across the church to hug me, smiling, donut in hand – another treasure.

Today I pray that you’ll discover a real treasure. If you do, take it to your heart and hold it close. I think you’ll find that the kingdom of heaven, the love of God, has just come near.

Devotion for October 26

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field… Matthew 13:44

Hidden in the midst of bodies, young and old, each working to keep in shape, was a young man. I would guess he was all of 25 – give or take a year or two. His smile was crooked, his hands at strange angles and his legs struggling to make use of the exercise bike. I was taken by how hard he worked. I was touched by the glee he found in the simple motion of the pedals of that bike.

I suppose some would suggest that he didn’t belong there amid all the functioning bodies of young and old. There may have even been some who glanced his way and quickly looked away in embarrassment. I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention.

As for me, I was thrilled by him. I found his exhilaration at the simple movement of limbs infectious. He was like a treasure hidden in the field. He reminded me of the pleasure I often overlook of being able to move and breath… the sheer pleasure of life.

I looked at him and thought of how generous God is. God gives joy to each as we have the capacity to experience it. God provides the simple pleasures of life in the shared connections between us. This gift of a common humanity that lays hidden so often beneath the soil of our daily habits… our daily grinds.

But every now and then, we stumble upon this treasure. And when that happens to me, like it did at the club the other day, my heart beats a bit more strongly, my spirit lifts and my mind goes to the Creator who, in spite of every human flaw, gives us the opportunity to smile; the possibility of seeing, really seeing, life in a new way.

I hope that today you will stumble on just such a treasure hidden in the field of your work – or workout.

Devotion for October 19

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… Matthew 6:19-20

The Dow Industrial Average fell nearly 250 points on Monday. The Occupy Wall Street protest has swollen to international proportions. Investors are worried. Protesters are angry. Republicans blame the President… who, in turn, blames the Republicans.

We’ve seen all this before. I don’t mean to make light of the situation at all. Instead, I think we need to take a deep breath and regain our sense of perspective. Like most people, I lost over 40% of my pension at the beginning of this recession. Like most people, I don’t have the spendable income I once did. Like most people, I think it’s less an economic situation and more a moral one. According to George Barna, 76% of adults in the United States think that the moral climate in our country is getting worse, not better.

And, if you aren’t worried, just listen to the news or read a paper. The bad news and crime inundate us from all directions on a daily basis. As the great writer Earnest Hemmingway once said, “All a person needs is a place to stand.”

That’s what Jesus tells us in the teaching above. There is a place to stand where our investments are secure. This is the moral high ground, if you will, of our faith. We are called to be investors in eternity. What we need today is a forever perspective. Such a view point takes seriously the conditions around us, but recognizes that this life is, ultimately, transitory. Only one thing is forever: the love of God in Jesus Christ.

A forever perspective will set loose the best in us. That begins with attitude of faith, not fear. I invite you to join me in transforming our worry into witness: the confident living of our faith. Not only will you feel better, you just might be a real blessing to someone else. Pray it forward!

Devotion for January 27

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… Matthew 6:19

My wife, Christine, has been working to de-clutter our lives. It is a really good thing. I am amazed at how much “stuff” I have accumulated over the years. These are “treasures” that I knew I would value over time. Most of them haven’t worked out that way. In fact, I find myself confused over why I originally acquired most of these earthly treasures.

For example, I have two late 19^th century shot guns. These were purchased to be decorations for my masculine office – or, at least, my downstairs workroom. But I’ve never hung them. They are muzzle loaders that reflect nearly 150 years of life, but they just sit on my workroom table. They aren’t worth much and will probably never appreciate in value. But I’ve held on to them with a firm purpose in mind – a purpose I have never gotten to.

This has led me to wonder what other relics clutter my life. I wonder how many of my thoughts are relics of a former way of thinking; how many of my activities are really expressions of what I truly value and how many or just habits; how many convictions are still cluttering my heart simply because I haven’t had them challenged for a long time.

So, I’m going to work at de-cluttering my soul as well as the physical stuff  of my life. I have a process I’ve used before from Margaret Blanchard. She calls it “educated incapacity” – knowing so much from the past that there’s no room for what we need to know for the future. So, I’m praying, once again, the prayer she stimulated in me: Lord, what do I need to unlearn today in order to learn what you would have me know?

I’d love to have you join me. And if you do, tell me what happens.