Each day of the camp when the kids settled down for their drink and snack in the basketball hall Coach Dan spoke with them about the differences between treasures in heaven and the treasures on earth. Before the kids arrived, the coaches had hidden 40 euros in various places in the hall and once the kids heard this, they tore the hall upside down! It was a great illustration of how hard we will work and search for things that we seriously desire, but many times what we are looking for never turns up. Or, if we do find what we are looking for, it ends up being something that fades away or loses its value. This is no more apparent than in the sports world. Many of these kids will devote the majority of their time and energies into developing their skill in hope of winning competitions, trophies, or championships. Some will attain those achievements, but probably come to find those accolades to lose their value with time. But others will strive and search for these, but like the money in the hall, always come up empty-handed.
The great news in these lessons is that there is a treasure on offer that will never lose its value! Check out 1 Peter 1:3-7. In one sense, God is like the money in the hall in that he is always in our presence even though we can't see or feel him. Yet unlike the money, the God can always be found by anyone regardless of their cleverness or ability. Though we don't always see the immediate benefits of searching after this treasure, we can be certain that we won't be let down in our pursuit.
