KACS Radio Network

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44.

Colorado has a rich history of silver and gold mining. One of the most successful Colorado mining operators in the days of the early West was a man named Horace Tabor. He made millions from a site near Cripple Creek that he named Matchless Mine.

His wealth went to his head, and he began to do as he pleased. Tabor divorced his wife and married a beautiful socialite named Baby Doe. Soon misfortune overtook them. The price of gold and silver plummeted. Tabor incurred enormous debts. In the end he died a brokenhearted, poor man. But before his death he supposedly gave Baby Doe this admonition: “Have faith in the Matchless Mine; never give it up. It will give you back all that I have lost.”

Despite this, the Matchless was soon lost to foreclosure; but for whatever reason, Baby Doe decided to live in a dilapidated storage shack near it, and continued there (at the generosity of the mine’s new owners) until her death in 1935. The Matchless proved to have played out; if Baby Doe was hoping against hope that it would yet yield riches, her hopes were never realized.

One mine will never play out. There is one source of wealth that produces more and more. There is a mine of truth that is endless. The riches of His grace can never be exhausted. Jesus is the treasure hidden in the field. In comparison to all we have, our Savior is more precious still.

Someone has defined sacrifice as giving up something of lesser value for something of greater value. For example, when a person gives up smoking, they give up something of lesser value, cigarettes, which contribute to cancer and heart disease, for something of higher value, good health. Jesus’ love is of inestimable value. His grace is incomparable. Receiving Jesus, we receive peace and pardon and power and purpose. Think of it. In Christ we receive an inner peace as He enters our life. He gives us a sense of calm security. He delivers us from the guilt of our past failures. He silences the accusing voices of a condemning conscience. In Christ we receive power. He imparts supernatural power to live. He is stronger than the habits that bind us.

The power of grace is greater than the power of sin. In Christ we have a new purpose for living. Christ gives us a new direction for our lives. He gives to life a new sense of meaning. There is no greater treasure. There is nothing of any greater value. There is nothing more precious. Christ is a mine that will never ever run out.