Hidden Treasure

Our mountains are near the top of the list of the things that I treasure.
In Matthew 13:44-45 Jesus tells two short parables that challenge us to value our relationship with God more than anything else in the world.  A man finds treasure in a field and sells everything he has to buy the field.  A merchant finds a very valuable pearl and sells everything he has to buy it. The reign of God, Jesus says, is like the treasure and the pearl.
I think of the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, as the relationship that God has with all human beings and all of creation, a relationship that is constantly growing.  Like the treasure in the field, the reign of God is hidden.  I think of the other world woven into and through this world but hidden from our senses.  Something happens in our lives that makes us discover the Divine.   With joy we put a relationship with God at the very top of the list of the things we treasure.  Like any relationship, it grows and changes as we understand better and surrender more completely.
These parables push us to think about what the pearls are in our lives.  I have found it helpful to make a list of what I value and then rank what's on the list.  Does our relationship with God consume us?