February 20, 2014
Claim Jumpers
“Prospectors” is an
interesting program on the Weather Channel that highlights four teams of
seasoned prospectors searching for gems in the Colorado high country. The stars
of the show are digging for anything from jewelry quality aquamarine and topaz,
to museum quality specimens of quartz crystals attached to amazonite. Much of
the mining takes place at 14,000 feet and danger comes in all sizes - weather,
rockslides and claim jumpers. When the
miners leave their digging site, because of nightfall or weather, they often
cover it up so no one will find it until they can get back to finish their
work. The cast member’s enthusiasm for finding the gems they seek is contagious
and the celebration is joyous. Spiritually speaking, we too need to watch out
for claim jumpers; and it wouldn’t hurt if we also had a little bit more enthusiasm
for the precious treasure we’ve uncovered in Christ. Jesus said, “The kingdom
of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it
again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matt
13:44 NIV)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----The parable of the pearl of great price is not merely about a man finding what he really liked. It is about a man searching very hard for very valuable stuff, “…fine pearls…” as Jesus put it. That he sold all his estate to buy the pearl indicates how much he wanted it and to what extent he would go to get it. I also love these analogies to mining. They show the same thing from the angle of the search, rather than from the response to the find. It is a painstaking, hard, dirty search requiring much more effort in moving dross out of the way than in picking up diamonds or gold nuggets. But again, the amount of effort invested shows the degree of its driving desire.
-----One of my favorite Bible ideas comes from Paul. It doesn’t sound too technical until you’ve pondered it for a while, or at least that’s the way I’m beginning to see Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” That word “righteousness” is itself like a diamond mine. Setting aside the dross of it’s usual connotation of doing religious things, righteousness is more properly doing what is right, thinking and feeling right, and being right.
-----Philosophers have fought each other into a frothing idiocy of conclusion about there being no right or wrong. Their plight came less from there being no diamonds or gold nuggets for them to find and more from their attraction to zirconium, iron pyrite, and tailing piles left by even more fools digging before them. It is what your heart is set on that determines what your invested effort will find. Both the desire and the size of investment must be right (there’s that word again).
-----”Right” is worth vast pondering. Cleaned of all the philosophical dross, it is a very general and low tech way of saying “the key that unlocks the door”, “the time that gives fine wine its body”, “the pollen which will turn the blossom into a pear”. It is like pliers might get a nut off the bolt, but the fact they will round its points indicates a wrench is right for that job. The kingdom is that state of all things being right, doing right, thinking and feeling right.
-----Unlike the foolosophers’ unwillingness to desire right - not what they want to be right, but right as right is (any resemblance to “I AM that I AM” is entirely intentional) - we dig with fruitful effort desiring right as God meant right. In this twisted world of a mineshaft, His kingdom growing into you means lots of hard work and rightful focus. “My son, if you receive My words and treasure up My commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God…Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you; understanding will guard you.” (Prov 2:1-5 and 9-11)
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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