Daily Devotional for May 21, 2021
Buried Treasure
“Buried treasure?” Alex stared at Dad. “In our backyard?”
“It’s possible.” Dad unzipped a canvas bag. “This is a metal detector I borrowed from a friend. You wave it over the ground and it beeps when it detects buried metal—like coins or jewelry.”
“Cool. Let’s try it!” Alex grabbed a shovel as Dad hovered the detector over the lawn. Beep, beep. Dad whooped and held the detector in place. Alex grinned. “We’ve found something!”
“Start digging!” Dad sounded as excited as Alex. “You know, this reminds me of how they found the Steamboat Arabia,” Dad said as Alex began shoveling.
Alex spotted a coin. “A quarter!” He handed it to Dad. “Did you say something about a steamboat?”
Dad set the metal detector down and began cleaning the quarter. “In 1988, people used old maps and a metal detector to find the Steamboat Arabia—buried in a cornfield!”
“No way! A steamboat buried in dry land?”
Dad nodded. “In the 1800s, steamboats traveled on the Missouri River to deliver cargo to general stores in frontier towns. Sometimes trees fell into the river. They’d sit just below the surface where captains couldn’t see them. The Arabia hit one and sank to the bottom. Over time, the river changed course. The Arabia filled with mud, which eventually became dry land that was used for a cornfield. They found the steamboat and all its cargo—which is the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world.”
“Wow,” Alex said. “I think it would be so exciting to find the biggest treasure ever.”
Dad handed him the clean quarter. “Actually, you already have.”
Alex wrinkled his nose. “A quarter?”
“No.” Dad laughed. “I’m talking about our salvation—the greatest treasure ever. Forgiveness of sins. Eternal life with Jesus—”
“And anybody can find it,” Alex said. “People don’t even have to get muddy to dig up that treasure! Jesus offers it freely to everyone.”
“Finding the Arabia was treasure for sure,” Dad said. “But nothing in this world compares to the gift of salvation. It is truly the treasure of treasures.”
Alex nodded and studied the backyard. “Do you think there’s more treasure here?”
Dad grabbed the metal detector. “There’s only one way to find out!”
-Matt Shoemaker
How about you?
Have you found the greatest treasure there is? You don’t have to go digging for it—Jesus is offering it to you right now. When you accept His gift of salvation, you receive forgiveness and eternal life. Don’t let anything stop you from enjoying the peace of God and all the wonderful things that come with salvation!
Thank you for reading this Keys for Kids devotional! Did you enjoy the story? Has Keys for Kids been an encouragement to you and your family? If so, would you please consider supporting Keys For Kids Ministries in our effort to continue to provide these daily devotionals to children around the world?