“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.” – Matthew 13:44
“The excellence of the heavenly life is not perceived, indeed, by the sense of the flesh; and yet we do not esteem it according to its real worth, unless we are prepared to deny, on account of it, all that glitters in our eyes.” – John Calvin’s Commentary on Matthew 13:44
I worry about not being able to help the students I teach who most need my help, that I’m a physician who helps wealthy people get into better shape but can’t really aid the direfully ill in their need.
This anxiety reveals that playing the short game, one that’s built on the idea that every subsequent semester will always be like this one; that if I can’t see results now, nothing substantive has happened; and that I know what I’m looking for in the first place.
The parable Christ tells typifies the long game approach, a total commitment to what eternally matters most.
I pray for kingdom eyes to see and the spirit-filled stamina required to play this long game.