“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46 NASB)
I received many moving letters last week as we celebrated the crucifixion and resurrection of Messiah Jesus. Here are a few that I hope challenge and encourage you as they did me.
Treasure
From a friend who wished to remain anonymous:
Wayne, considering the idea that Jesus is always the prime mover in the Matthew 13 parables, that He is the merchant & the man, I was blown away by the truth that He sees me as treasure worth His all! All week I have been singing that early Chris Tomlin song “You are my treasure,” changing the words a bit to fit Matthew 13 – “I am your treasure.” In case you don’t remember the words:
Faithful Lord, fill my cup
With your grace and love
The treasure that this world’s full of
Could never be enough
‘Cause I’m created for You alone
Bought with a price I’m not my own
Seated in the heavenlies
There’s no place I’d rather be
Than with You, forever, Lord
‘Cause I am Your treasure.
Good Friday
This note comes from Linda Brucato, a missionary friend in Italy:
Last week as I was writing in my journal I began reflecting on what made me consider a day to be “good.” Were days good based on the weather? Or were they good when they brought me pleasure? Or perhaps when I accomplished something worthy? After some thought I concluded that “good” days were days that were “significant,” which of course brought me to consider how I decided what significant was. In the end my conclusion was that “significant” days were the days when I “saw” God.
Today is called by many “Good Friday.” In keeping with my definition of a “good” day it fits perfectly! Could there ever have been a day that was more significant than the day that God the Father manifested His eternal love for man by sacrificing His only begotten Son for our atonement? Could there ever have been a day that we “saw” God more? Today I am writing in my journal, “It is a GREAT day!”
Real World
Finally, a comment from my friend Wendy Balivet, a lady talented as both physician and writer:
Amazing Good Friday service tonight. On a night like this i feel that the whole world has been opened up, the lid torn off, so that the Real World rushes in for a moment, and we could sense the Reality if we knew where to turn. i look around, and the glimpse has vanished, leaving behind it an echo, and the whisper of a scent that Someone was here. i didn’t miss it, but its stay was so brief that it feels as if i did, and i’m left with the ache that we’re not There yet, and the assurance that we will be One Day. He knows that his glory is too much for our feeble spirits to encounter for long, so he lets us feel the hint of his presence as he brushes past. More than that we cannot take, although we long for it in our deepest places. A snatch of music faintly carried to our ears is all that we can safely experience of his song, elsewise we perish from the sound of it.
God bless,
Wayne