Treasure Hunters

[January 31, 2011]   --A worship song we used to sing frequently reads, “You are my strength when I am weak. You are the treasure that I seek; you are my all in all. Seeking You as a precious jewel, Lord to give up I’d be a fool. You are my all in all.”
In 1622, the Spanish galleon known as the “Atocha” went down off the Florida Keys during a hurricane. At the time, it was carrying the entire economic foundation of Spain with her. That treasure was discovered and is worth over 40 million dollars. On the ocean bottom, there has been found gold bars, silver bars, coins and jewelry, not to mention many museum quality artifacts. I once had the privilege of seeing this collection and must admit I was impressed. I even had a chance to hold one of the gold bars. For a moment, I was rich, but then they made me give it back.

The man who found the sunken treasure is Mel Fisher. Mr. Fisher is called the greatest treasure hunter in the world. However, Mel wasn’t always a treasure hunter. Mel Fisher was at one time a chicken farmer. He took diving lessons and then later opened his own dive shop. He then became obsessed with finding the long lost galleon of 1622. In 1968, he moved his entire family from California to the Florida Keys and began his search.
In 1970, Fisher discovered in the archives of Seville, Spain, the approximate location of the sunken ship. For years, there were very little found pieces here and there, artifacts and gold coins from other ships, but in 1985, they finally hit the “mother lode.”
Things have not always gone well for the Fisher family though. In 1973, Mel’s son was killed while out on an overnight dive not to mention years of court battles over who gets to keep the gold: the government, the state of Florida, or Mel himself. The Supreme Court finally ruled in Mel’s favor.
Today, the recovery of treasured artifacts still continues. The Atocha is still considered the world’s richest find. But is it really?
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; rather, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

The song I open this article with seems to imply that there is a greater treasure then that of the Atocha. The song says that God becomes the treasure that I am seeking. That He is a precious jewel and to give Him up, I’d be a fool.
It’s too bad the world hasn’t come to understand this that God is the most precious thing we could ever have, even more wonderful than all the sea’s buried treasures. It’s even more amazing that God considers you and me His treasure. He told the Israelites in Exodus 19:5, “Now therefore, if you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people.”
Jesus said that we need to seek the right treasure in life. It would be an exciting thing to have found the wreck of the Atocha, I admit it. But in all reality, it wouldn’t come close to the treasure I have in my relationship to God. Not even close.
 

[Ron Otto, Lincoln Christian Church]