And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
— Matthew 2:11
This conference, held in Cleveland, OH on April 3-4, 2010, focused on several New Testament portions that speak, either directly or in figure, of the treasures we have in Christ. Matthew 2:11 tells us that “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” were offered to Christ at His birth; “gold” signifies God Himself, “frankincense” signifies the resurrection of Christ, and “myrrh” signifies the death of Christ. We see different aspects of these treasures in Colossians 2, Matthew 13, and Second Corinthians 4.
We should consider these treasures so that we may learn to appreciate what the Lord values, and not be distracted by other things. In fact, the things which we may feel are very good, such as our past experiences in the church life, are often not as valuable as we think, and if we focus on such things we might eventually become discouraged in our Christian life and church life.
The Lord Jesus died, paying the greatest price, so that we could be His treasure, which is composed of His many “pearls” (Matt. 13:44-46). We should respond by confessing, “Lord, You died for me to make me a part of Your treasure. In turn, now I would just hide in You, allowing You to impart Your life to me, so that I really become such a pearl to You.”
