Finding God is a bit like the men in the above two parables discovering treasure or finding a pearl of great price.  God’s told us to ‘seek first his kingdom and his righteousness’ (Mt 6:33, NIV), and that we will find him when we seek him will all our heart (Jer 29:13, NIV).

But nowhere are we told to keep God a secret, like the first man hiding the treasure again after finding it.  Nor can we buy the kingdom of God, like the man who bought the field or the other that bought the pearl, even if we were to sell everything we have.  I’ve always thought these two aspects of the above parables were a little odd.  Of course, it wasn’t that Jesus gave a couple of sketchy, imprecise parables.  It was my understanding of the parables that was the problem – I got things the wrong way around.

We are the treasure; we are the pearl of great price.

Because it was Jesus who first sought us out, like a shepherd after lost sheep.  He came  ‘…to seek and to save what was lost’ (Lk 19:10, NIV), which is us.

And Jesus redeemed us, bought us, by giving all he had: himself.  It is sung of him in Revelations,  ‘… You [Jesus, the Lamb of God] are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”’ (Rev 5:9, NIV)

And finally, like buried treasure, God’s plan for our salvation was a mystery hidden from the beginning, only fully revealed when the purchase of our souls was completed.  Otherwise, as the apostle Paul notes, Satan and his forces would not have crucified Christ, inadvertently selling us back to God.  It was all part of God’s grand design, his ‘…secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’ (1 Cor 2:7-8, NIV)

We love God because he first loved us; because he sought us and found us, and gave all he had to redeem us.  We are the treasure, the pearl of great price.  And more than that, we are his.

– Joey

It sounds odd that Jesus would tell his disciples they failed because they had so little faith, and then go on to say they only needed a mustard seed’s worth to move mountains.  But it’s more the quality of their faith that he was referring to, rather than the quantity.  The thing about seeds is that they have great potential, but need to grow – much like faith.  As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more…” (2 Thes 1:3, NIV)

Growing from mustard seed to mustard tree requires time and patience – and perseverance during the tougher times:

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.  See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is…  Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.  You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about…”  (Jas 5:7-11, NIV)

Mature faith is tenacious, firm, resolute – it has to be, in order to survive the many tests that are thrown at it.  But the end result is spectacular.  We can see this in the story of a Canaanite woman, whom Jesus commended as having great faith:

“A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!  My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.’  Jesus did not answer a word…”  (Mt 15:22-23, NIV)

How strange, and how rude!  A woman pleads for mercy, yet Jesus doesn’t reply.  But then again, sometimes it seems like that when we pray to God.  That doesn’t stop this woman, though – too much is at stake.  So she kneels before Jesus and pleads again.  Jesus insults her, but that didn’t stop her either:

Woman: Lord, help me!
Jesus:  It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.
Woman: Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.
Jesus: Woman, you have great faith!  Your request is granted.
(Mt 15:26-27, NIV)

She refused to be offended by God, and Jesus finally grants her her request.  But not before drawing out her great faith for all to see – a faith that was relentless.

– Joey

Later on, Jesus tells the parable of a widow who, through persistence, finally received justice from an unjust judge despite his initial refusal and indifference to both God and men (Lk 18:1-5).  This parable was told to the disciples “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Lk 18:1, NIV)

The idea of persistent prayer can seem odd – as if children of God need to pester, plead with and hound a heavenly father to get something good.  After all, most earthly fathers seem happy to give their children good things the first time they ask – sometimes before – and don’t need to be worn down by constant harassment.

But on closer examination, God’s nature is only partly represented in the two parables.  He indeed gives us our daily bread (Lk 11:3) and is the bread of life (Jn 6:35), and he is the judge of us all (2Tim 4:1).  But unlike the friend in the first parable, God will neither slumber nor sleep (Ps 121:4), and unlike the judge in the second parable, God is a just, righteous judge (Acts 17:31).

The main point of the two parables is not to do with God’s nature – and to make sure we don’t get the wrong idea, immediately after the parables Jesus assures us that God willingly gives good gifts (Mt 7:11) and that he will ensure justice, quickly (Lk 18:7-8).  Instead, the parables concern us – and more specifically, our faith.  At the end of the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus said:

“‘And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones…?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.  However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’” (Lk 18:7-8, NIV)

That’s what Jesus was on about – faith, and the perseverance thereof.  The two are actually inextricably linked:

“By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” (Heb 11:27, NIV)

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Heb 12:1, NIV) /
“…I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (says Paul in 2 Tim 4:7, NIV)

“…the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete…”  (Jas 1:3-4, NIV)

God doesn’t withhold anything good from us.  He wants to give us the best – and that includes perseverance.

– Joey