The occasional gust swung me gently as I lay in the hammock. I drew my hoodie tight around my face as the sun dipped behind the mountain in the west, giving rise to cooler temperatures. My trusty pocket bible was retrieved from my pocket and I flipped back to the verse that had caught my attention that morning.
In Matthew 10, disciples are given their commission. After being told where to go, the next command is this- “as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
I thought, “I go... I preach... but what exactly is the kingdom? Some deeply intricate exegesis of (undiscovered) truth?”
My mind spun as my want-to-be heroic blood surged through my pressurized veins. I imagined myself spelunking into unlit crevasses of truth with a torch heretofore un-wielded by mortal man. Here I would discover the “secret” of the kingdom’s substance that would change the world in the preaching.
A few verses later (Chapter 13), God used parallelism to bring me back to my senses. He continues, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto...”- I sat up straight- a farmer of wheat; a mustard seed; leaven; treasure hidden; one pearl; a net.
Oh, right.
In “over grandeurizing” the means, I had lost the depth of the simplicity of the kingdom.
Familiar stories- deep lessons.
Re-enthused, I slid out of the net that had been suspending me, and grabbed my “bakers bag”, “shovel”, “seed kit”, “fishing equipment”, and a few “simple stones”... ready.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matt. 11:15
I encourage you. Go again and visit the parables.
Amen. The parables are some of my favorite. So many lessons they have...
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