This week's Theme: Wise Investments
Day 1: Genuine Treasure
I don’t remember the details of what we "bought" and "sold," at our play-shop, but trade was brisk, and my sister and I, and our friend next door, were always on the lookout for currency. Money Platey, we called it, small broken pieces of china, with delicate floral patterns, and once in a while, pieces of the inscription, Made in Czechoslovakia.
It was a familiar inscription—we saw it every year when the china was taken out of the cabinet to be washed a few weeks before Christmas. After Christmas the china was returned to the custody of the wooden cabinet—visible only through two scant panes of frosted glass.
But each year, one or two items never made it back from the brief furlough. Clumsy hands or some other inevitable mishap assured that a new round of broken pieces would be scattered abroad, and eventually added to our money platey supply. And sometimes the caked earth would reveal a spectacular piece that opened new horizons for our imagined ventures.
How simple life seemed then! But the days of money platey—the days of childhood grew wings and flew away, and I have long since put away childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11). Or have I?
For even while I would now laugh outright at the idea of hunting for pieces of broken crockery, I know that life still offers many opportunities to trade in money platey. Jesus addresses this when He contrasts earthly preoccupations with things of eternal value. "Do not work for food that spoils," He instructs His followers, "but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (John 6:27).
In Matthew 13:44-46 He describes investment in the kingdom of God with the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
In our world with its focus on what is seen and temporary, it may sometimes be challenging to fix our eyes on what is unseen and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Like children, we could be drawn to fields of broken china, and miss genuine treasure—the hidden treasure and fine pearls of great value that Jesus describes.
But Scripture gives us guidance on how to invest wisely in the eternal—in time spent in prayer and communing with God, in studying the Word of God, and in impacting lives and influencing godly success through building and nurturing relationships. In its pages God provides us with the knowledge and insight we need, so that the activities, the priorities, the pursuits, and the occupations that we choose as our "ventures" and "investments" are not eventually revealed as spectacular pieces of porcelain caked with earth.
