Josh and his dad clawed their way up the painted rock face, sometimes scrambling on hands and knees. The artist's touch colored these cliffs red to portray the fierceness of this desert highland. Finally their destination lay before them: two large holes as eyes on the mountain overlooking its world below.
Josh's dad had felt different this morning. For some reason he was burdened and felt disattached from his surroundings. It reminded him of feelings of dread back home. He thought back to why he pushed for taking this trip in the first place. The fast pace had been making him dizzy and he knew there had to be so much more to life. It had gotten to the point where he and his wife could not even sleep at night to give them the rest they needed to make it through their busy days. So with great effort of arrangements, he made this adventure possible so he and his son could experience a slower pace and maybe let God make some sense of this crazy life. When they entered the cave and Josh spoke, God made clear what His message was.
"Hey Dad, maybe there is hidden treasure in here!"
"You don't know how right on you are, boy." his dad said, thumbing to a passage that came to mind in his pocket New Testament. "At that time Jesus said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.'" (Matt. 11:25)
He chuckled at the chill bumps rising, and motioned to Josh to sit down for a break. "We are the treasures here, son. Look out there at the wilderness. It's full of adventure, but it's God's story, not one we are making up ourselves as we go. If these caves overlooked our city what would they see? A bunch of tiny ants running here and there. We've forgotten about the empty tomb - a cave probably not so different from this one. There's been only one person in the entire history of creation that has died and arose again. If Jesus had not done that, the story ends there, but the fact that He was seen by hundreds of witnesses after He was crucified demands a verdict from all of us everyday.
"Now here's where we miss the point: He did that for us, you and me. That means He loves us more than we'll ever love ourselves. We are the treasures to Him. He has already buried our old selves in His grave and invites us to be raised up with Him. We seem to always forget that He arranges events in our lives as believers to make us more like Him. Trusting in Him shows we believe in Him and this act of obedience pleases God. That's it plain and simple; trusting in Him gives you that rest, that peace that brings assurance that you are in the center of God's will, where you know you are close to Him. When we neglect the meaning of His resurrection, we actually show disobedience, a sin that mocks God. As I read further, it makes sense:
""Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:28-30)."
Josh and his dad clawed their way up the painted rock face, sometimes scrambling on hands and knees. The artist's touch colored these cliffs red to portray the fierceness of this desert highland. Finally their destination lay before them: two large holes as eyes on the mountain overlooking its world below.