The Best Treasure-Hunting Strategy
It started as just another day at the office, dropping into the General Conference morning worship a bit late, unprepared for the spark about to ignite my imagination as I listened to an adventure tale of a roadtrip-turned-treasure-hunt that led listeners to the brink of certain discovery...only to be disappointed that the clues had apparently not been interpreted correctly. It did make a great story though, and some lessons to ponder about the definition of wealth. I was intrigued by the story, but it soon faded away with more days at the office.
A few years later, however, I remembered the story and started Googling and asking my friend, the author of the worship story, more questions. The treasure hunt was still on. Forrest Fenn buried the $1 million-worth of gold coins and jewels in a treasure chest in 2010, and published a 24-line poem called The Thrill of the Chase along with a map of the Rockies from Santa Fe to Canada, in his memoir. It set off a treasure hunt for thousands of people. Some searched in good fun with a couple of side-trips, like my friend. Others relocated and even gave up their jobs to search for the treasure. Five men lost their lives, and Forrest was asked to call off the hunt. But he wouldn't. He just reminded the treasure hunters again to pay attention to the poem, to be careful, and to remember that he was 80 years old when he hid the treasure.
There was something captivating to me too about studying a poem as a map to tangible treasure. At the time, I was keenly interested in paying off the rest of my student loans. It seemed so reachable, especially since my friend had already been studying this poem and making side-trips for a few years. For about a week in 2018 or so, we even gathered a small group of like-minded co-workers considering a trip to Montana to launch our own one-week treasure-hunting adventure. But calendars and real life got in the way, so it didn't happen.
A few years later, in 2020--10 years after the treasure was hidden, and only months before his death--Forrest Fenn announced that the treasure was finally found and that he had met the new owner, who had chosen to remain anonymous for his own safety. I was a little disappointed that the mystery was solved, but comforted to learn that the finder was just your average 32 year-old med student from the east coast trying to pay off his student loans.
That was all I really needed to know, but got curious recently and did another Google search. Apparently, at the end of 2020, for various reasons (mostly related to law-suits from sore losers), the finder decided to reveal himself, as well as a few more details of his search, although he had promised Forrest that he would protect the land where the treasure was hidden by not revealing where it was found.
As I read the article, I was blown away by the simplicity of Jack Stuef's strategy. It wasn't about advanced orienteering or mountain climbing. It wasn't about online forum discussions that picked apart words and stretched clues to fit ideas of the hunters. It wasn't even just about the poem, although that was where he started. For Jack, it was all about the author. He spent the bulk of his search studying Forrest Fenn--reading and re-reading his poem, his memoir, and anything else he found. Watching and rewatching interviews. Studying his life, his feelings, his stories. While he did have to take a few trips out into the wilderness, he wasn't spending his time on word definitions--he was putting himself in the shoes of the man who had hidden the treasure and written the poem. And it led him to the treasure--and to Forrest Fenn to celebrate the discovery with him.
There was something awakened in me in the idea of a treasure hunt--an invitation to adventure, to tangible rewards. But Jack Struef's secret to treasure-finding success is even more powerful, and I don't want to miss or forget it. How do we find this ultimate treasure--this abundant life for which we were created? We start with a poem and a map found in His Word, which ultimately leads us to the Author. We study His words, His character, His feelings. We study His life on earth, the stories He told. We study His death and resurrection. Ultimately, we discover that this treasured life is found in Him. He is the treasure worth searching for, sacrificing for, that will pay every debt.
On the flip side, our treasure-hunting hearts get lost when we lean on our own understanding, searching in places that God never intended for us. We can sit around and analyze it all and discuss definitions. We can choose to believe that our own way is correct--and we can even defend it with His Word, twisting the meaning to make it fit where we think the treasure should be. But if we do not really know the Author, we will not know His heart, we will miss His intended meaning, and we will miss the treasure. In this way, our confidence can blind us. It can lead us to a lot of interesting and sometimes dangerous places, and maybe even with some crazy stories to tell--but we will come up empty-handed every time. Because the treasure goes to the one who knows the Author and Giver.
I think God keeps bringing me back to this story because He knows I need this reminder. I don't want to live my life trying to sound smart or convince people I'm right. I don't want to spend all my time working out my own way, leaning on my own understanding, gaining confidence from the agreement of others. I don't want to be distracted by a lot of great ideas, and miss studying His Word. All I want, all I need, is to study Jesus, to know His love for me, and He will lead me to that abundant life only found in Him--the greatest treasure I could ever find.
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