One of the blessings of meeting new people and traveling to new places is hearing new stories. During a recent trip to West Virginia a good friend shared a Civil War story that holds a lesson for all believers.
While showing me around the area and pointing out some good hunting spots, this friend also took me to areas of natural beauty and historical significance. Like much of our own valley, the hills of West Virginia hold many secrets from earlier times.
One particular story captured my imagination. A Union detachment of soldiers got pinned down and were facing what would likely be a decisive battle the next day. In an attempt to protect a valuable cannon and two chests of payroll gold, the commander sent a few men up the road to bury it all.
The officer instructed the soldiers to inter these items in the middle of the road with the expectation that when they likely retreated the next morning, they would march over the fresh earth and tamp it down thus concealing its location from the enemy. After the current skirmish subsided, they would return to dig it up and remove it.
The loyal Union soldiers did their duties as assigned and faithfully buried all the valuables they had been entrusted with. They returned to camp later that night to await the morning battle.
Sure enough, shortly after first light the battle was joined and the Union detachment was sent into retreat by a much larger contingent of Confederate troops. The Yankees took the planned route and all marched unknowingly overtop of the buried treasure.
Only after regrouping a short while later did the Union Commander realize that all the men he had sent to safely hide their gold and cannon had been killed in the battle. Not a single one was left to identify the spot they had carefully disguised.
One can only imagine the interest this story has generated over the years and numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to locate the buried treasure. The old road bed is now grown up with brush and trees on private land but local speculation still persists that there’s gold in them thar hills.
This intriguing story not only makes me want to grab my own shovel, but it also illustrates a powerful truth. Don’t die without sharing your most important secrets with others. We never know when our own time may come and it’s important that others know what and where our “treasures” are.
This is especially true with the best news of all. Far too many Christians keep their faith to themselves thinking that no one wants to hear about Jesus when the truth is many are literally dying without Him. If we take the good news of the Gospel to our graves without sharing it with family and friends, they may never find and cherish the best treasure of all.
Thankfully, others shared with us the Good News of God’s love demonstrated through Jesus’ life, teachings, death, and resurrection. Even though the bodies of many of these faithful witnesses are now buried themselves, their secret of where to find everlasting life lives on in us. It’s our privilege and duty to pass it on to others before we join them.
As we prepare to celebrate Holy Week and the best news of all time, let’s not go to our graves with this vital information still within us. Let’s share it freely with everyone we can that all may know where and how to find God’s great love and grace.
Blessings, George