The LORD our God, the LORD is One: My Greatest Treasure

This will be another confession post. On Sunday morning, I preached on the shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and I described God as our greatest treasure, worthy of our heart, soul and strength. And as the sermon sat (and continues to sit) in my belly, I am stuck on that word treasure. I will confess that it occupied much of my run yesterday afternoon- I sang songs from childhood about treasuring God. And yet, something about that phrase "treasure" rings hollow. It's not that I don't believe that God is our greatest treasure- I do. I just examine my life and wonder what it would mean to treasure God. You see, when I think of the word "treasure," I imagine a child opening that one gift they really, really wanted on Christmas morning. I was totally that kid. I'd go nuts, jumping up and down excited for the one toy I really wanted. Here's what is also true- my "treasured" gifts were given to Goodwill or sold in a garage sale long ago. My jumping up and down was always a precursor to the inevitable disappointment when all the gifts were given and opened, and there were no more treasures for me. Perhaps I need to re-think treasure. When I think of treasure today, I really think of people. I think of my wife, whom I treasure. I think of my family and friends, whom I treasure. I don't jump up and down, per say, when I think of them. I think of our history, of the difficulties we have overcome, of our great moments together. And what I think of most is that they are never too far away- either a phone call or a walk home. And if that is truly treasure, then God is my greatest treasure. When I am really excited, I share my joy with God. I occasionally dance- but not in public. When I am grateful, God shares in that moment with me too. When I am frustrated, you better believe that God hears about it. When I am disappointed and burned out, God is the refuge I collapse into. Now certainly, I do not do these things perfectly all the time. But when I can go to God with anything, I know that God is my greatest treasure, beyond any material or spiritual blessing God could give me.