National Treasure: Guest Feature by Dr. Larry Doyle

Dr. Larry Doyle is Director of Missions for the Piedmont Baptist Association in Greensboro, NC. Dr. Doyle included this article in his weekly "encourage_" email, and with his permission, I reprint it here. I told Dr. Doyle I felt like this piece was in keeping with the goals we established when we started this blog. Without further ado, here is Dr. Larry Doyle with "Our National Treasure."

This week our thoughts have turned to our nation, our history, and our future. As I was channel surfing this weekend, I caught the end of a Disney movie titled National Treasure. Watching this fictional story of a quest to discover, and protect the national treasure, made me ask the question, "Is there a real national treasure?"

My answer is yes, but I'm not thinking of a cache of gold, hidden somewhere beneath the streets of Philadelphia. This treasure is not measured by financial standards, or even in terms of our great heritage and history. Our true national treasure is found in these words, "In God We Trust."

If this is our treasure, what does it mean to trust in God?

The Bible says, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined into our hearts, to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in an earthen vessel that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of ourselves." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) The NLV says " . . .this precious treasure - this light and power that now shines within us - is held in perishable containers . . ."

In other words, our national treasure is our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. In the movie, the national treasure was hidden in a tomb, beneath an old church in downtown Philadelphia. Our treasure can become hidden beneath our traditions.

The code for rediscovering it, as the movie suggests, is not found in some ancient document written by men, such as the Declaration of Independence, but rather in God's Word. Further, we do not need "rose colored glasses" to see the hidden words, just the Holy Spirit to lead us to recognize the truth. We simply have to read the Word of God.

Just like in the movie, the path to encounter our treasure is also through a tomb. Someone paid the ultimate price for our treasure by giving His life. This tomb, however, is empty, because death could not hold Him there. His resurrection secured the treasure for us, and for everyone who believes in Him.

It is also important to remember, our treasure is intended to be shared with the world, not buried in our church buildings. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere." Mark 16:15 NLV.

As citizens of perhaps the greatest nation in history, we do have a national treasure! Share the treasure! You can never give it away too many times! Tell someone about Jesus today!