Sunday, 2 May 2021
Title: Hidden Treasure
By Elder Bryan Lee. 李惠隆

Matthew 13:44
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

How much do you think Alaska, the largest state (424 million acres) in the US is worth today? In 1876, Russia sold Alaska to the US government for 7.2 million US dollars. That is the average listing price of a bungalow in Singapore. The then Secretary of State William H. Seward was heavily criticized for buying a piece of frozen barren land. Critics thought Seward was crazy and called the deal “Seward’s folly.” Seward was laughed at for his willingness to spend so much on “Seward’s icebox.”

But Seward was undeterred and he convinced the American government to purchase. The Senate ratified the treaty that approved the purchase by just one vote. In convincing the US Congress, Seward said, “I am not attracted by the ice and snow of this territory. I am attracted by the abundant treasures buried underground.”

Ultimately, buying Alaska proved to be a very good decision. Major discoveries of gold were made there in the 1880s and 1890s. Today, petroleum transported across the state through a pipeline is Alaska’s richest mineral resource.

In a one verse parable, Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven as treasure buried underground. This treasure is so valuable that the man would sell everything in exchange. The point of the parable is that everything pales in comparison to the kingdom of heaven. To be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven you must obtain citizenship from the King.

Unlike Alaska, this treasure is not for sale. In fact it is given free of charge to anyone willing to receive it. Sounds ridiculous? Not really. Because the offer of this treasure comes from God the owner of the entire universe and he has put it in writing, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.“ (John 3:16)

As a young man in college, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and 44 years on it’s still the greatest treasure I have received even though through these years God has blessed me with other earthly treasures. This treasure most of all gives me the purpose to live my life on earth. It is this treasure that led apostle Paul, the greatest persecutor of the church in the first century to proclaim, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8)

The treasure of knowing God and being part of his kingdom gives mankind the purpose in life. Without this treasure, man’s existence in this world is meaningless.

Many of us have watched the movie Bohemian Rhapsody about the life of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the hugely successful British rock band Queen. Success had brought him fans all over the world and he had amassed a huge fortune, but in spite of this his life was empty. In one of his last songs, Freddie Mercury asked the question: “Does anybody know what we are living for?”

Shortly before his death in 1991 at the age of 45, he admitted in an interview and said “You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need – a loving, ongoing relationship.”

There is only one relationship that is completely loving and ongoing, and that is our relationship with God. That is the treasure Jesus is talking about in this one verse parable. Without this treasure, life is void of ultimate meaning and purpose.

Prayer:
Sovereign God, you created humankind to have an ever lasting relationship with You in Your kingdom. Some of us have broken this relationship. Help us to re discover this hidden treasure once again. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

班底浸信教会每日灵粮
2021年5月2日, 星期日
标题：隐藏的宝藏
作者：李惠隆长老
翻译：林良億姐妹

马太福音13:44”天国好像宝贝藏在地里，人遇见了就把它藏起来，欢欢喜喜地去变卖一切所有的，买这块地。”

您认为美国最大的州（4.24亿英亩）阿拉斯加（Alaska）今天的价值是多少？ 1876年，俄罗斯以720万美元的价格将阿拉斯加卖给了美国政府。那是新加坡单层平房的平均上市价格。当时的国务秘书，威廉·蘇厄德（William H. Seward）因购买一块冰冻的贫瘠土地而受到严厉批评。评论家认为这个国务秘书很疯狂，并称这笔交易为“苏厄德的愚蠢”。国务秘书因为愿意在“苏厄德的冰柜”上花那么多钱而被嘲笑。

但是苏厄德并没有因此而感到沮丧，他说服了美国政府来购买。参议院仅以一票批准了购买的条约。在说服美国国会时，苏厄德说：“我不被这片领土的冰雪吸引。我是被埋在地下的大量宝藏所吸引。”

最终，购买阿拉斯加被证明是一个非常好的决定。黄金是在1880和1890年代最主要的发现。如今，石油是阿拉斯加最丰富的矿产资源，在每一州通过管道来运输。

耶稣用一个比喻讲说天国是埋在地下的宝藏。这笔财富是如此的宝贵，以至于该人将出售一切作为交换。这个比喻的重点是，与天国相比，一切都显得无色彩。要成为天国的公民，您必须从国王那里获得公民的身份。

与阿拉斯加不同，该珍宝不可出售。实际上，它是免费提供给愿意接收的任何人。听起来可笑？并不真的。因为这笔宝物的奉献是来自拥有整个宇宙的上帝，祂以书面形式写道：神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的不致灭亡，反得永生。”（约翰福音3：16）

作为一个在上大学的年轻人，我接受了耶稣作为我的个人救主，尽管这几年上帝赐予我其他地上的宝藏，但44年来，这仍然是我所获得的最大宝藏。最重要的是，这笔宝藏使我能够在这世上过着有目标的生活。正是这种财富导致使徒保罗，在一个世纪最强大的教会迫害者宣告说：“不但如此，我也将万事当做有损的，因我以认识我主基督耶稣为至宝。我为他已经丢弃万事，看做粪土，为要得着基督， ” （腓3：8）

认识上帝并成为天国的一部分可以说是人的宝藏，也因此成为人生的目标。没有这种财富，人类在这个世界上的生存就毫无意义。

我们当中许多人可能都看过这部电影《波希米亞狂想曲: 搖滾傳》（Bohemian Rhapsody)。这部电影讲述了佛莱迪·摩克瑞（Freddie Mercury）的生平，佛莱迪是一个非常成功的英国摇滚乐队，Queen，的主唱。成功为他带来了全世界的粉丝，他积累了巨大的财富，尽管如此，他的生活却是空虚的。在他的最后一首歌中，佛莱迪问了一个问题：“有人知道我们为什么而活吗？”

在他45岁去世那年，1991年，他在一次采访中承认，他说：“您可以拥有世界上的一切，仍然是最孤独的人，那是最痛苦的一种孤独感。成功给我带来了全世界的偶像崇拜和数百万英镑的收入，但这却使我无法拥有所有人都需要的一件事： 一段充满爱并持续不断的关系。

只有一种关系是完全充满爱和持续不断的，那就是我们与上帝的关系。那就是耶稣在这节经文中所说的宝藏。没有这种财富，生命就没有最终的意义和目标。

祷告：至高无上的神，祢创造了人类，在祢 的国度里与祢有持久的关系。在我们当中有些人打破了这种关系。帮助我们再次发现这个隐藏的宝藏。奉我主耶稣基督的名祈求的，阿们！