Two of my favorite hobbies when I’m not writing are bicycling and hiking in the woods with my husband. Now we’ve added something new to these adventures—geocaching. 
It’s a treasure hunt, of sorts. Avid fans of this sport hide thousands (if not millions!) of “caches” all around the world in out-of-the way places, then give GPS coordinates and clever hints for how to find them. We searched for some while vacationing in Florida, when visiting our son in California, and when we traveled to Germany. I found a few while hiking in New York State with my sister last week. They are everywhere!
A geocaching app on our phones locates them using GPS coordinates. The compass then takes us within a few feet of where it’s hidden. After that we use the hints that are provided and our powers of observation to find the hidden container. Some are hidden right along the trail; others require bush-whacking through underbrush or reaching into holes—not my favorite things to do.
Large caches are the size of a shoebox.
Medium ones the size of a sandwich container.
Small ones, a medicine bottle.
Micro caches are even tinier.
I’m pretty good at the larger ones. The micro-sized ones often defeat me. Some caches offer little trinkets inside as a reward. I found a dollar bill in one. All of them have some sort of log book to sign. But for me, the reward is in the pleasure of the hunt and the thrill of discovery.
Recently, I’ve been trying to apply my new treasure-hunting skills to my spiritual walk. Our pastor has been preaching about the Imago Dei—the image of God—which resides in every person on earth. The Bible says we were made in God’s image, so that spark is hidden there, whether we see it in someone or not. The key to loving our neighbor as Jesus taught, is to remember that even the most unlovable people are made in His image, although we may need to search hard to find it.
Sometimes I meet strangers and feel an instant connection—and discover that they have a huge cache of faith and love of Christ in their hearts. Their treasures are easy to find. Then there are people who rub me the wrong way, or whose outward behavior is offensive, or who don’t seem to have any redeeming qualities at all. Those are the ones I want to turn away from and give up on without even bothering to search. It seems as difficult as finding a micro-cache in a forest. But they have been made in God’s image too, and deserve to be shown His love. Weren’t we all “lost” at one time?
Jesus was amazing at finding that spark of the Divine image in unlikely people such as tax collectors, prostitutes, and demoniacs. And I’m supposed to become more and more like Him, aren’t I? He taught us to “love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you,” but I never quite understood how to do it. Maybe the key is to search for that hidden treasure of God’s image. Jesus also tells us why we should bother to look: “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.” He doesn’t want anyone to remain lost—and so I shouldn’t, either.
I often wish I had a handy app to make it easier, but I do have the Word of God to guide me. If I’m faithful to follow it, that should be more than enough.
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I love this analogy, Lynn. And find the whole geocaching phenomenon fascinating! I didn’t know you guys did that. What a fun thing to do together!
It is fun. You and Ken should try it on your bike trips. The app is free so it’s a free hobby.
Your hobby is awesome! Who doesn’t like a treasure hunt?
I love your analogy because there are annoying people in this world. I admit I often have to pray that God will let me see them as He sees them. Often He will allow me to see them in a different, more loving way.
It always amazes me to think that God loves those irritating people!
My son and his friend used to geocache. Loved your post.
It reminds me of the scavenger hunts we used to do with our cousins and the neighborhood kids when we visited my grandma….ages ago now!
Geocaching is a lot of fun but I admit to being squeamish when I see a spider or a snake!
I’m going to have to try geocaching! I think my kids would love it. 🙂
They probably would! It’s addictive!
Thank you for this great analogy and the reminder to try a little harder to find the treasure of Gods image in the sometimes annoying people. Have you ever thought of writing a devotional? 😉 I appreciate your inputs a lot because you have a great ability to combine experiences from real life with the word of god.
PS: I went geocaching too. Treasure hunting is a lot of fun. The only thing I didn’t like was crawling into the shrubs.
I agree with you about crawling into creepy places! I did write a devotional of sorts a few years ago. It’s my only non-fiction book and is called “Pilgrimage.”
I have been geocaching with friends.
I wasn’t prepared for the bugs, hot & humid weather, and thank the Lord, I didn’t come across a snake.
But I did find the “treasured box” and when I opened it up, I left a little toy soldier and my prize was a bookmark that said, “READ”.