These Treasures of Mine

August 2008

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. – Eph. 1:18-19

He’d been waiting for this moment for many months. My son opened his palm to reveal the tiny, white, enamel tooth that had just fallen out of his mouth. The corners of his mouth curled upward into an enthusiastic mold that revealed the snaggled five-year-old grin he’d been waiting for. Jackson had wiggled that tooth for months, and finally, it had come out.

We’d told him stories of the tooth fairy who would visit him on this particular evening. He could barely stand the wait and dashed into bed early with his beloved tooth tucked perfectly centered under his pillow.  He couldn’t close his eyes for the longest that night. Sleep evaded him. He kept peering under the pillow to see if anything miraculous had happened. Finally, he dosed and settled into a nice sleep.

It was 3am when the 6’3’”, 250 lbs “tooth fairy” that I sleep next to every night made his way up the stairs and into our son’s room. He gently exchanged the tooth with a surprise and came back to bed.

The burst of the sun through the partially open window drapes awakened Jackson around 7am. From our bedroom below, we could hear the frantic thudding of an excited boy who’d just discovered his treasure. He called my name with a loud burst of enthusiasm and scampered down the stairs in a hurry to show me his loot. He opened one palm to reveal a package of gummy bears (his favorite snack), then uncurled the other. To my surprise, I saw a crisp five dollar bill. I was speechless. Back when I was losing teeth, 25 cents would be something to celebrate. Is this what teeth are going for these days? I shot my husband “the eye” while calculating how broke we would be if we continued giving this extraordinary sum for every tooth our two boys lost. Unaware of my tangled emotions, Jackson scampered out of the room to show his brother what he’d gotten.

Jerry knew what I was thinking. He smirked and assured me that I ought not worry.

“Priscilla, remember last month was Jackson’s 5th birthday?" he said. "All those family members came over to celebrate and brought cards with $5 bills in them. We put them all in a drawer in the kitchen. Well, last night at 3am, I went in that drawer, got out one of those bills and put it under that pillow!”

Now this is what I call good parenting not to mention wise financial stewarding.

I laughed out loud and thought about how thrilled my boy had been to find treasure--not knowing that it was really fortune he’d had all along.

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Paul longed for the believers from the church at Ephesus to come to a full understanding of the spiritual treasure they possessed all along. He opened the drawer in which the wealth and inheritance they’d been given at salvation had been unknowingly stored and encouraged them to take a closer look:

. . .redemption through His blood. .

. . .forgiveness of sins . . .

. . .riches of grace . . .

. . .wisdom and insight . . .

. . .a lavish inheritance . . .

. . .the Holy Spirit  of Promise. . .

. . .the hope of His calling. . .

. . .the riches of His glory. . .

. . .surpassing greatness of His power. . .

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know…,” Paul exclaims.

Friend, I pray that you will know! I pray that these great treasures which the Father hath so graciously given you will be realized in your life. God forbid we tuck them in a drawer and hide them away, never fully utilizing the inheritance that became ours at the time of our adoption. So, by His Spirit, open your eyes and cash in on His promises today and everyday.