Treasure Hunts

Hiding Easter eggs well is an art form. Hiding spots must be chosen carefully, keeping several factors in mind. First is the location of the hunt. If it is rainy or cold, an indoor hunt may have to replace the traditional outdoor hunt. Age is also important. Hiding an egg in the branches of a tree is fine for an older child, but a toddler will never see it. The toddler sometimes misses the egg sitting in the open on the sidewalk. Another important factor is whether the hunt is for an individual child or a group. If it’s a group, you have to take care to hide the eggs evenly between the age appropriate hiding places and make sure older children know which ones to leave for little ones who move a slower and may not even understand the concept of hunting the eggs.

But once they get the concept, it’s so much fun to watch a child’s enthusiasm over the Easter egg hunt. You’d think someone hid gold rather than candy and hard boiled eggs! Of course, to a child, opening a plastic egg to find a favorite candy is a real treasure hunt worthy of all their excitement.

Kat Williams, from Callum’s Compass by Sara Foust, knows the feeling. When her friend Clayton passes away, he leaves her clues that start her on her own treasure hunt. Unlike egg hunts of childhood, this treasure hunt promises a big reward and lands Kat in more danger than she imagined possible. But she’s not alone in her hunt. Ryan Jenkins, a wildlife officer, reluctantly accepts his duty to help Kat in her position as a biologist doing research in the area. As they spend time together, Kat tells him of the treasure hunt, and he finds himself going along on the adventure.  All they have to do to find more rewarding treasures than they’d hoped is figure out each riddle of a clue and avoid dangers from both nature and the criminals who want to stop their treasure hunt permanently.

Most of us have outgrown Easter egg hunts, and hopefully, we won’t face a life or death treasure hunt like Kat any time soon.  But that doesn’t mean there isn’t treasure for us to seek out. Colossians 2:3 tells us godly wisdom and knowledge are treasures. Several verses in Proverbs reinforce this idea. 2 Timothy tells us the gospel of Jesus is a treasure we are to guard through the Holy Spirit.  These are just some of the treasures God gives His children, and they are treasures that cannot be taken or destroyed.

By the Book: Scripture tells us what we treasure in our hearts is what comes out in our lives. Is your life showing the treasures of God or the treasures of this world?