Each was listening intently for the nearest sound that would indicate that something might be hidden below the surface, and hopefully something of great value, and then with great expectancy start to dig with the thought of maybe this is the treasure we have been looking for. That elusive treasure trove.

The danger of our times is that we are encouraged to pursue these treasures too readily, and by seeking to possess things we become possessed by them. By accepting attraction after attraction, our appetite proves to be insatiable.

We seem to have lost the discernment that is able to distinguish between that which is trivial and passing and that which is of great worth and eternal.

As Oscar Wilde remarked, we "know the price of everything and the value of nothing."

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all that he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13 v44).

This treasure is not a new thing as a new awareness. It is the opening of our eyes to the reality that is all around us. How many people had crossed that field and never realised that it contained anything but soil? How many labourers had worked that field with little reward? No one was aware of the great treasure that was at hand. It is the opening of our eyes to the reality that is all around us – a reality that the Gospels describe as the Kingdom of God.

We may have to travel far in our lives to find it, and yet all the time it is at hand and within us. We may have to go on seeking it, yet in some strange way we travel with it around us.

The attractiveness of Jesus will allow us to want to sell all our lesser possessions to obtain it. This is the relationship of love. We are willing to give all that we have because in so doing our life is filled by the Beloved.

This verse from the song Be thou my vision, expressed it exactly.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;

Be thou mine inheritance now and always;

Be thou and thou only the first in my heart;

O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.