Parables

The kids (at Ecclesia) are entering a new block on parables and while looking up some for a new yoga based movement we are doing. I read this (Mathew 13:44 & 45)...

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field. A crafty man found the treasure buried there and buried it again so no one would know where it was. Thrilled, he went off and sold everything he had, and then he came back and bought the field with the hidden treasure part of the bargain.

Or the kingdom of heaven is like a jeweler on the look out for the finest pearls. When he found a pearl more beautiful & valuable than any jewel he had ever seen, the jeweler sold all he had and bought that pearl, his pearl of great price.

The parables just amaze me. I love teaching them to the kids because it is definitely one of those cases of them teaching us. When I read these I see the precious nature of God the fact that he asks us to give it all but gives us something precious and all consuming and forever valuable at the same time. He asks all of us, then overwhelms us with his giving. If only we could see (as we are asked to give up) the beauty he has for us... I am sure we would give it all!

I definitely feel this paradigm in my life right now. I am almost perplexed by the fact that I was asked to give up something (house, comfort, ownership, security) and now feel like not only did I not loose anything I am overwhelmed by how happy and blessed I am. It really is everything I "lost" was an illusion, and God's reality has now had a chance to take root.

Then the other two I love. The mustard seed & the yeast. The idea of that small amount of yeast / a small seed growing and expanding. It is something I have experienced about the nature of God, it is one of my favorite things about His heart.... the well of love, and beauty that comes from such small effort. It is the acts of love that go unnoticed but then suddenly are all around us. It is the way that caring for a room can suddenly bring everyone who enters love. Or the way your small effort (done in obedience) suddenly becomes a catalyst for others and radiates out. It is hard to explain, yet so simple... Jesus did an amazing job trying to show us His kingdom and all it holds for us. Makes you want to give and do more doesn't it?