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If you found a treasure map with a big X on it, you would know what that X means–buried treasure! Today in Sunday School, our teacher showed us a map of the world with a big X on the land of India. She said that it was like looking at a treasure map. What kind of treasure can we find in India? I made a list of just some of what we can find there:

• More than 2,500 different people groups
• More than one billion people
• More than 400 languages
• Approximately 17,000 types of flowering plants
• More than 1,200 different species of birds
• Thousands of years of history

God loves every single person in India. To Him, each one is like a treasure, something to be worked hard for and found. He doesn’t want the people to try to hide from Him (even though you can never really hide from God; He always knows right where you are). He wants every one of them to search for and find Him. In the Bible, Jesus compared the kingdom of Heaven to a treasure in a field. When someone finds it, they will give up everything they have to get it.

God isn’t hiding from us. He is always here, loving us and wanting us to find Him. But we have to do one thing–we have to be looking for Him. We can’t just sit around and wait. If someone gave you a map to find a treasure, would you sit around and wait for the treasure to come find you? Of course not! You’d follow the map and find the treasure. God’s Word, the Bible, is our map. It tells us everything we need to know about God and His plan for us. But we have to be willing to follow it. I’m going to pray that everyone will follow God’s map and find the treasure He is waiting to give them. Will you pray with me?

“Dear God, thank You for not hiding from us. Thank You for loving us even more than treasure and for giving us the map we need to find the greatest treasure of all–You! Please help me and each person in India and all around the world, to follow the map and want to find You. Help us to trust You and know how much You love us. Help everyone to know that Jesus died for them and that He is alive now and wants everyone to know Him and live with Him forever. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Sources: JoshuaProject.net, Operation World by Jason Mandryk, Encyclopedia Britannica

Download a FREE All Around India Notebooking Unit (Color) with questions for additional exploration.

Download a FREE All Around India Notebooking Unit (BW) with questions for additional exploration.