If we’re honest, sometimes we don’t want to study the Bible. We know we should feel differently, but it’s the truth. At times we simply lack the motivation.
What are we supposed to do with that?
Petr Kratochvil, public domain
We All Want Treasure
Humans are treasure-seekers. Though we seek different treasure in different ways, we’re all on the hunt for meaning, significance, and happiness. And we can’t help but give our time to this pursuit.
We want to be respected and admired, so we put in long hours at work. We tweak our presentation over the weekend and answer email at the soccer game. We need people to know we’re on top of our game.
We want to belong, so we find people of similar interests. We stay up late for fantasy football, get up early for CrossFit, or zealously track our favorite celebrity on social media.
We want to be comfortable, so we agonize over the perfect house, neighborhood, and job. We research our decisions three times over so nothing is left to chance.
We’ve all done this. We latch onto something of great value, and in the pursuit of it we become single-minded, focused, and consumed. We target our love like a hawk tracks a field mouse.
God is Our Treasure
The Bible reveals that we were made for God. Despite our attempts to find value and pleasure elsewhere, he is the top prize in the universe.
This is why the “one thing” David wants is to gaze upon God’s beauty and inquire in his temple (Psalm 27:4). This is why Paul lost everything for the sake of Christ and considered it garbage so that he could “gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
God gives us good gifts, so the lesser riches we seek are not inherently bad. But they are nothing compared to God. Jesus came “that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). He is our great treasure.
How Do We Get This Treasure?
Anyone that is brought to God is brought by Jesus. A supernatural, spiritual work must take place inside us.
This transformation reorients our hearts. When we confess our pathetic treasure-seeking in light of the glory of God, he changes and purifies our desires.
Though Christians have experienced this once-for-all change, we still drift and search after other fulfillment. We still need reminders about what is most valuable, what is most fulfilling, and what is the best use of our time and resources. (See Matthew 6:19–21.)
Of course, God gives us this instruction in the Bible. This is where God warns us, encourages us, gives us hope, and convinces us of his unending love. In short, we find God, our supreme treasure, in the Bible.
You Do Not Lack Motivation
Sometimes I avoid the Bible because I forget what I’ll find there. The Bible isn’t just rules, stories, parables, and prophesies. In his word we encounter God himself.
In the Bible I see how to obey God, how to trust him, and how to love him. I learn that Jesus gave up his life for me and that the same power that raised him from the dead is working within me.
I read that my life is not to be protected or guarded at all cost. Rather, I find true life—that is, treasure—when I lose my life for others out of love for God.
Because we all want treasure we don’t need to produce motivation to study the Bible. We need to channel our natural desire and point it toward the most precious prize in the world, God himself.
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