The treasure hidden in the field... the pearl of great price... and Jesus' message each time is that we can only possess them if we divest ourselves of everything else. Thus, the merchant takes a great risk, selling everything he owns because he believes that the pearl is worth so much more; the man finding the treasure goes and sells all "in his joy" (Matthew 13: 44-46). They lose everything; they gain infinitely more; not a like for like recompense, but something far lovelier.
But in order to gain all, they - we, I - must first take the risk... And I certainly know how hard that can be! Which explains the wry smile with which I greeted this tweet the other day...
In a few weeks' time it will be Lent, a time when we "give up" all sorts of sweet things. The temporary giving up isn't an end in itself, but an aid on the journey into a more radical, more permanent giving all. Wouldn't it be lovely if, this Lent especially, I - we - could loosen our grip on all those pieces and halves of honeycomb we manage to hold back...? Imagine what we could plant, what God's transformative power could do with them, what they might grow into...
But in order to gain all, they - we, I - must first take the risk... And I certainly know how hard that can be! Which explains the wry smile with which I greeted this tweet the other day...
In a few weeks' time it will be Lent, a time when we "give up" all sorts of sweet things. The temporary giving up isn't an end in itself, but an aid on the journey into a more radical, more permanent giving all. Wouldn't it be lovely if, this Lent especially, I - we - could loosen our grip on all those pieces and halves of honeycomb we manage to hold back...? Imagine what we could plant, what God's transformative power could do with them, what they might grow into...
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