Why is it that if Jesus is the greatest treasure there is, we have to convince ourselves of it rather than it feeling natural?

I’m being real here. Frankly, there are lots of other things that seem to give me more joy than Jesus. A vacation in Hawaii, for example. Or a Disney Mediterranean Cruise, for another. When my mind is tired, I think about those other things to fantasize and relax rather than leaning on Jesus.

And when I desire heaven, it’s not because of what’s there, but because what’s NOT there. Heaven will NOT have death, diseases, goodbyes, tiring work, money problems, etc. Therefore, I desire it. I just want to be rescued from this world. So, I desire heaven because I’m tired of the imperfections of this world. But shouldn’t I desire heaven for what it does have – which is Jesus? Shouldn’t I want to go there because I see Jesus as the greatest joy giver there is and I want to be near Him?

I realized that I’ve been misinterpreting for years one passage of the Bible:

1 Cor. 2:9, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”

I’ve always thought that that was referring to what God has been preparing for us in heaven. You know, the streets of gold, walls of diamonds, the tree of life that bear 12 kinds of fruit that you don’t get fat from eating… etc. But that’s not what it’s talking about at all. It’s talking about sending of His Son Jesus. What no eye has seen and no mind has conceived is not the beauties of heaven, but the unthinkable reality of God sending His Son as a sacrifice for our rebellion!

But why don’t I sense Jesus as that greatest treasure that no man has ever even imagined?

Because something is blocking my eyes. So it is yours if you identify with what I’ve been saying.

It is my sin. It is your sin.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!” Matt. 5:8

The reason why we fail to see Jesus as the greatest treasure and joy-giver is because we are not pure in heart.

So, there’s my motivation for wanting to be pure. Not so that I won’t get into trouble. But so that I can see God clearly and have joy in my heart seeing Christ as that greatest treasure…

PH