The Hidden Treasure
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
The second characteristic of God in Exodus 34:6 is grace. Philip Yancy (1997, 14) writes: “Trace the roots of grace, or charis in Greek, and you will find a verb that means ‘I rejoice, I am glad.’” If grace is an undeserved blessing, then grace is nowhere more evident than in the healing and resurrection miracles that Jesus performed.
Consider the story of the Widow’s son:
“As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep.Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.” (Lk 7:12-15)
We know that this resurrection is an act of undeserved grace, because the mother and the son have done nothing to deserve this miracle. In fact, we know nothing about them at all from the story, except that the mother is a widow, the son is her only son, and the son is dead.
The fact that the widow’s son is an only son suggests that the widow is especially destitute in a male-dominated culture—the widow has no one to support or defend her. She cannot inherit property and will likely either have to beg or prostitute herself to survive. This story reminds us of Elijah’s resurrection of the widow of Zarephath’s son (1 Kgs. 17) and of God’s special concern for widows in general (Exod 22:22).
Needless to say, if the widow is deserving, it is solely because of her status as a widow, not from any action on her own part. In the raising of Lazarus, who was four days dead and buried, this point was even more emphatically emphasized—how much faith did Lazarus have? (Metaxas 2015, 72) We are not told. The resurrection was an act of divine grace, not of mercy or restitution for services rendered. The many healing and resurrection stories found in the Gospels likewise assure us that Jesus is divinely gracious.
Hidden treasure
Jesus’ parable of the Hidden Treasure likewise points to God’s grace, but it also suggests that our response to grace is important.
Jesus tells us: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matt 13:44)
Interestingly, here we are not told what this treasure is. We might envision this story as a man who, on plowing a rented field, digs up a pot full of gold coins. The core idea here is that the treasure in this story is a windfall gain, totally undeserved but that requires further investment to realize the gain.
Just like Bill Gates, I was playing with computers in the early 1970s, but unlike Mr. Gates I did not undertake investment in computers or even envision the development of a personal computer. I was like the man who prayed to God to win the lottery only to hear a voice from heaven advising him to buy a lottery ticket! How many of us haven’t wanted the treasure without being willing to risk making an investment?
In case we missed his point, Jesus told a second parable like the first: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matt 13:45-46). These two parables are then followed by a third parable highlighting God’s judgment.
The point here is that many times God’s grace requires action on our part to receive the blessing. God does not dispense miracles and grace for naught. Normally, a miracle is a sign of God’s presence in our lives.
The Hidden Treasure
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Bos_24 , Signup
The post The Hidden Treasure appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
