The Treasure

Everyone longs for a treasure—something worth living and dying for. Some seek it in love, truth, contentment, or joy. Others chase wealth, health, fame, or power, believing fulfillment lies there. Some pursue knowledge and science, while others look beyond this world, searching for it in enlightenment, religion, or God.

The Treasure Map

Many follow a map, convinced it will lead them to their treasure. Whether they express it or simply live it out, their pursuit reveals what they truly believe holds the treasure they seek.

The Unappealing Treasure

As the world seeks this treasure, two sides of a coin emerge. On one side, a generation tirelessly follows a map, dedicating their lives to finding their treasure. Yet the riches they pursue fail to bring the joy, connection, and love they once hoped for. Instead, their journey leaves them empty, constantly chasing the next treasure, only to find it just as unfulfilling as the last.

On the other path, a new generation rises—one that has witnessed the emptiness of the world's pursuits and rejects them outright. Disillusioned by broken promises, they refuse to follow the maps handed down to them. Yet, rather than seeking truth, many define their own path by feelings and impulse, even embracing falsehood simply to defy the past.

Both groups are searching, but few find what they seek. One clings desperately to the illusion of treasure, while the other rejects the generations of the past in a blind search for their own.

A Real Treasure

People long for a true answer—something real, something that reflects the treasure they seek. If it doesn’t deliver, they reject it. This is why a new generation has emerged, not only rejecting the ways of the past but also turning away from truth itself. They refuse to align with previous generations, instead defining themselves by whatever feels right in the moment, even if it means embracing falsehood out of defiance.

In the end, one group clings to what they believe is life’s ultimate treasure, living and dying for it—no matter how empty it proves to be. On the other side, a new generation rises in opposition, rejecting the past and forging their own path, seeking something real.

Christianity’s Two Faces

As a Christian, I must acknowledge our own failure. We, too, have two sides of a coin.

On one side are the fervent Christians with the loudest voices—the self-righteous who point fingers at a lost world. Then there are the political Christians—Christian nationalists or Christian conservatives—attempting to force the world to live by God's standards. And, of course, there are the Christian critics or reformists, the progressive Christians, always ready to highlight biblical, legalistic, and interpretational flaws within the church, often causing unnecessary division. These individuals believe they are defending God’s Kingdom, as if God needs us to fight for Him.

But standing for God isn’t about forcing morality on others—it’s about living in a way that makes Him undeniable. Jesus didn’t come to improve this world; He came to save us from it. He didn’t fight to make it conform to God's standards; He showed its emptiness through His love, His denial of its allure, and His ultimate sacrifice.

On the other side are the silent Christians—the ones hidden away in their church bubbles. They speak of having found a treasure, yet live as if they haven’t. Rather than seeking Christ with all they are, they settle for empty words—debates, apologetics, evangelism that lacks true power. They attempt to prove Christ through knowledge and argument, forgetting that words without transformed lives are meaningless.

The Lost Treasure

I once watched a documentary about Forrest Fenn, an art dealer who hid a treasure chest in the Rocky Mountains. Several treasure hunters died searching for it because they truly believed it was there.

The tragedy is that Christianity has lost its appeal because people no longer believe the treasure is real. Not because Christ isn’t real, but because we, as Christians, don’t live like He is. We lack the fire, the passion, the relentless pursuit that proves He’s worth everything. We’ve made Christ unappealing—not because He is, but because we have failed to seek Him with our whole hearts.

Christians are meant to shine so brightly that our lives either draw people in or challenge everything they stand for. That is what compels people to ask why we live the way we do. That is what makes them seek the map we follow.

A Hard Truth

Some Christians may feel I’m being too harsh, but I don’t mind. I love Christ, and I want people to know Him. I want to know Him better. And if we, as Christians, can’t be questioned, challenged, or rebuked, then we’ve closed our hearts and grown weak.

When I look at the world today, I don’t see the power of the Holy Spirit at work. I don’t see people living and dying in pursuit of Christ. I don’t see it in myself, as I wish, and I don’t see it in other Christians. Instead, I see us blending in—claiming we are not of this world, yet living like we are. And truthfully, the world isn’t buying what we’re selling.

To be fair, I don’t believe most Christians are intentionally off course. We lost our way long ago, as humanity always has. Many genuinely believe they are doing what’s right because it’s all they know—it’s what they’ve been taught, what they’ve seen modeled. Trying to steer them in a different direction is like trying to turn the Titanic before it hits the iceberg. They’ve built their lives around a certain version of faith, and to abandon it would feel like losing everything.

I know this because I’ve struggled with it myself. When I first came to Christ, I longed to embrace all of Him. But the church I encountered felt… off. When I read about the church in Acts, it looked nothing like what I saw around me. It took years for me to realize we were all lost—spiritual infants, sheltered inside a comfortable bubble. It wasn’t until I stepped away that I could finally see the reality of it.

We All Lose

In the end, everyone loses.

The non-Christian loses because they never see the beauty of Christ, and they may never find the treasure they were meant for. If they do find the treasure that is Christ, it will only be in spite of us, rather than because of us.

But Christians lose, too. We settle for a compromised faith, like winning the greatest lottery yet cashing in only a fraction—just enough to scrape by. We discover an ocean of living water but only dip our toes in.

Sadly, the treasures we seek may become the treasures that those who come after us will seek. Our family, children, loved ones, and friends could easily fall into the same compromised path we are following.

And worst of all, one day, we will stand before Christ—the treasure we claimed to seek—and answer for why we never fully truly pursued Him.

The True Treasure

Jesus is the ultimate treasure—life itself, worth forsaking the fleeting rubbish of this world. No one and nothing compares to Him. His love surpasses all, His riches are beyond measure, and in Him is pure light. To attain Him is to be filled with the joy, truth, and love that God has promised.

Yet we, as Christians, have failed to reveal Him for who He truly is. Instead of living in His fullness, we hide behind our failures, unwilling to be transparent. Like children, we cling to our immature ways, bound by the chains of this world, refusing to let go—clutching its comforts like a pacifier while still trying to follow Jesus.

But Jesus walks the highest peaks, where the childish cannot follow. It’s time to stop drinking milk and start eating solid food. It’s time to seek the treasure as if our lives depend on it—because they do. Until we seek Him as the true treasure He deserves, why would anyone else?