I came across a hidden treasure. It is a treasure that has been in my house when I was a child and has sat in my office for the past 14 years.  The only problem I never knew it was there.

I recently went on my son’s eighth grade trip to Washington D.C. as a chaperone.  While I was away my father filled the pulpit at my church.  As he was preparing he went into my office and pulled out a book to use for his sermon. When I returned I saw this book by my pulpit. At this point I had no clue it was even one of my books. It was an older book that I guess I was actually only using for decoration in my office, so i did not recognize it.

I picked up the book (You Can Change The World, James Keller 1948) and began looking it over.  The cover was old and faded, the pages yellowed, and the author was unknown to me.  For some reason, however, it caught my attention; maybe it was because it was out-of-place.  I picked it up and it opened to page 211, it was the first page of chapter eleven entitled, “Influencing The Word From Home.”

My trip to DC was amazing and inspiring. It inspired me to become better and to do something great when I saw and heard about the men, women, and events that shaped our country.  So when I saw the title of chapter eleven I was certain it was for me to read.

Last week I sat down to read this chapter. It blew me away. It was beautifully written, it was prophetic and spot on for today.  I began writing down what I called “tweetable” statements.  The treasures hidden in this chapter were amazing. I wondered how it was that I never knew this book was in my possession.

This book with its faded cover and yellowed pages brought to me great inspiration and truth. What was once a hidden treasure is now a crown of great worth in my library.

Sometimes we fail to recognize a treasure that has been with us for many years.  These treasures are often more than books, jewelry or works of art.  They are people.  They are our wives, our children, and our friends. They, like that book, have always been in our possession yet we are not aware. If we would just take a look, we might discover something of great value.

The crazy thing about this treasure, hidden in plain sight, is that I may not have been aware of it,  but my dad was.  He knew the value of the knowledge it contained, this is why he used it.

The crazy thing about the human treasures, not hidden from us,  is that many others see their worth when we have failed to recognize them as the treasures they are. Maybe my inspiration is a good call for us to see the treasures in our lives. Who knows? You may (re)discover the great value of your spouse, the worth of your children and the priceless friends God with which has blessed you.

Intentionally Seeking Treasures,

Pastor Jason