Unopened Treasure Chest

There’s a line in a 1970 song that goes, “Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?” Several different singers have recorded it in the years following, maybe because the picture painted by those words, sad as they are, unfortunately ring true. So often, I forget to recognize the value of what’s available in my life because I’m focusing elsewhere.

I’m not alone in this shortcoming. Tonight, our program is hosting a meeting that has the potential to be life changing for students, their parents, and their futures. It is an opportunity to learn how to find financial help for college. There is no charge for the meal or the information but are provided as a perk of our program. However, while many invitations were sent out explaining the benefits of attending, fewer than a fourth of those responded.

I’m sure there are many excellent reasons for absences; yet with the cost of attending college so high, I want the students and parents to find a way to do that. It is, of course, a decision each family must make for themselves; but I feel like for many, tonight is a unopened treasure chest—a lost opportunity to discover a nugget or two that could make a significant difference.

Now I said all that to say that spiritually, we too may miss nuggets and great treasure available to us. We may live in such a way that we “don’t know what we’ve got” in our hand. The scriptures are full of nuggets of truth that are life-changing. Still, we often let our bibles lie there, closed and dusty, while the pages contain all we need: 2 Peter 1:3 “his divine power has given unto us ALL THINGS that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him.”

The provision of God is a treasure hidden, not in an “Indiana Jones” or a “National Treasure”-like room under the ground, but in a closed book at our fingertips. Let’s not be too busy or too unconcerned or too uninformed to become a gold prospector. Psalm 19:9-10 "The laws of the Lord…are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.”

Joni Mitchell sang:
♫ “Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.” ♫