The Treasure Worth Everything

Learning to insist on the Greatest Treasure in life and not settling for something smaller is the key to a Normal Ortho0dox Life!

Why do you do what you do for your children?

I can’t tell you how many parents have told me they would do anything for their children. And I get it. I would do anything for my children, too.

But why?

Are you hoping they will be grateful and take care of you in your later years? Perhaps you are motivated by the reasonable tax deductions you can receive from having children.

No, of course not.

What motivates most of us parents is nothing more complicated than love. We love our children and want them to have every tool to make their lives healthy and happy. We want our kids to be successful in life.

That makes perfect sense since we are created in God's Image. God loves us even more than we love our children. In fact, God loves us completely selflessly. We can add nothing to God, and we cannot take anything away from Him. His love for us is total. He loves us and wants us to be with Him solely for our benefit.

Everything God has ever done, from creation itself to Him coming among us in His Son, our Lord Jesus, to dying on the cross and rising again, to His second and glorious coming and even the “Awesome judgment seat of Christ,” is all for us and our benefit.

Look at our lesson today in 2 Corinthians 4:6-15:

Brethren, it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

St. Paul is trying to guide the Corinthian Christians toward spiritual maturity. His primary tool in this passage is his own life. His willingness to trust God’s transcendent power in the face of his temporary problems is a lesson for us today! When he tells them, “It is all for your sake,” he helps them see that our thanksgiving to God in gratitude for His mercy is vital to our own spiritual maturity!

He tells them that God has given us the light “out of darkness.” In the beginning, God’s Word said, “Let there be light.” Now, the Light is being called into existence again by the Word (Jesus), who is the Light Incarnate and the Eternally valuable Treasure!

This contrast between Light and Darkness is critical because when we face tragic or painful circumstances, we feel like we are “in the dark,” groping for answers or trying to make sense of our situation. Paul is telling these Christians that their first and best answer isn’t some philosophical explanation but a connection with Jesus Christ.

Then Paul reminds the Corinthians that this “treasure” (the glory of God in the face of Christ) is held in “earthen vessels.” Consider a costly medicine held in a clay jar. The medicine is more valuable than the container, but the container is made precious because it holds the medicine!

And even though Paul says that he is afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and always carrying the death of Jesus in us (WOW, what a description of troubles), he refuses to allow the calamity to define his life. In light of all this trouble, St. Paul refuses to let the trouble overwhelm his faith in Jesus. And because he knows that God’s grace within him makes even his earthly body precious, his life reflects a motivation of thankfulness in his whole life.

He says all this trouble in his life is so that “the Life of Jesus may be made manifested in our mortal flesh.” I will never forget at a particularly painful and broken time in my life, someone asked me how I was able to keep going, and in a moment of inspiration, I said, “Imagine how helpful it is going to be to someone else who is struggling to watch me not give up during this painful time.” That insight helped me so much not to give up when life hit me hard.

St. Theodore, the Studie, was born in Constantinople in AD 759. His parents were very pious Christians, and they raised him to value the Faith more than anything else in his life. It isn’t surprising that Theodore, under such influence, opted for the monastic life early on. He was ordained a deacon at 25 years old and became the Abbott of the monastery at 35. Theodore was committed to the Orthodox Faith,m so when the heresy of rejecting the Holy Icons began to infect the Empire, Theodore fought with all his might to preserve the fullness of the Faith. He endured exile three times, and the last time, he was constantly transferred between dungeons in an attempt to break his commitment. These temptations failed, and finally, he was released by a new Emperor, and he went back to his monastery, where he reposed in peace in 826. As St. Paul understood, Theodore understood that the Light of Christ is always more powerful and real than the darkness of temporary pleasure.

Today, let us recall his holy life and the hardships he faced with the joy of the pure power of God in his life and answer the question ourselves: Can you make it through the hard times in life? If you do, it will be because you realize you never go through hard times alone. Jesus Christ is right there with you; others are praying you make it so they can have hope in their dark times. Either way, living a Normal Orthodox life makes all the difference when life is hard!

P.S. You are a guide of Orthodoxy, a teacher of piety and modesty, a luminary of the world, the God inspired pride of monastics. O wise Theodore, you have enlightened everyone by your teachings. You are the harp of the Spirit. Intercede to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV