“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
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
- Revelation 3:14-22
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“In this account [from Matthew 13], the man joyfully sold all that he had so that he could obtain the only thing that mattered. He knew that what he had stumbled upon-the kingdom of heaven-was more valuable than anything he had, so he went for it with everything in him.
“This kind of enthusiastic response to God’s love is entirely appropriate. Yet what a contrast to our typical response at discovering the same treasure!
“In the United States, numbers impress us. We gauge the success of an event by how many people attend or come forward. We measure churches by how many members they boast. We are wowed by big crowds.
“Jesus questioned the authenticity of this kind of record keeping. According to the account in Luke chapter 8, when a crowd started following Him, Jesus began speaking in parables–‘so that’ those who weren’t genuinely listening wouldn’t get it.
“When crowds gather today, speakers are extraconscious of communicating in a way that is accessible to everyone. Speakers don’t use Jesus‘ tactic to eliminate people who are not sincere seekers.
“The fact is, He just wasn’t interested in those who fake it.”
- Francis Chan, crazy love
C.S. Lewis wrote something about having times when he just could not wait to get to Heaven. Then he wrote for no one to get the wrong idea. He does not mention that wrong idea, but he was not about to do himself in to quicken the process. But he went on to say that when he was happiest was when he felt that way.
What did he mean by that? There are a couple of interpretations that I can think of. One is that for every happy moment, there will probably be a sad moment in the near future. Just a neutral moment means that we came down from the cloud. In Heaven, we will stay there, but in Heaven the happiest moment ever on earth will seem like a wimpy kind of Joy to the Joy of being in God’s presence all the time. Maybe there are more ways to interpret what Lewis said, but those are my two.
But why can we not kick up our heals and have a rip snorting praise party here on earth that is “out of this world”? Have you ever sold everything you have to buy a field?
The next parable Jesus tells is like the first one, but this time a pearl of great price. I purchased pearls twice in China. My wife gave practically all of them away.
Why did she do that? Because you cannot take them with you and to some of your friends and relatives, a single pearl is like the pearl of great price when you cannot afford costume jewelry. When your entire being focuses on sharing what you have, what you collect and cherish becomes the memories and the smiles that say more than the ‘thank you’ that may follow.
I can imagine her in Heaven right now, lounging on a bed of pearls. But as she said about her vision, the more you move in Paradise, the more energy you get within you to do even more. The feeling is exhilarating, and you never want to slow down. Not that her experience is accurate, but I can imagine it is not far from the mark.
I recently wrote a quiz about precious stones. Of the fourteen different precious stone names in the Bible, almost all the references to these stones are in the Old Testament. Why?
The precious stone, the treasure worth selling everything to obtain, the pearl of great price, is there in the midst of the disciples and after Jesus died, rose again, and ascended into heaven, He lives within our hearts.
With that in mind, how can we live a lukewarm life? “Profile of the Lukewarm” is the title of this chapter in Francis Chan’s book.
Yet, of the seven letters to the churches, this is the last. There is nothing good that is said about the Laodicean church. Some scholars say that every church, or the Church in general, goes through the stages of the seven churches. On fire, lulls, revival, and then final collapse into lukewarmness.
But with God truly in our hearts, can it truly be possible?
I have felt the palpable presence of the Holy Spirit, on more than one occasion. There is nothing lukewarm about it. I have often felt His presence very near as I write. It’s a different feeling, cozy, comforting, calm, and even heart-warming, but lukewarm? Never. I have written things and then had the computer read them back to me. Often, I am simply glad there were no glaring mistakes, but on occasion, I have had a tear trickle down my face. I had written something that I had not intended at first, and I knew God was helping my fingers move over the keys. That is far from lukewarm.
We do not have to be on a spiritual high all the time. I do not think it possible, but then I have seen those friends that look like they never have a bad day. I am sure they have gone to their prayer closet on occasion and poured their heart out, but it never shows in public.
But Paul would have never told the Thessalonians to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances if it was not possible to do so. But if we are only lukewarm, it probably won’t … I won’t say it, but the old fatalistic expression applies. “Good luck with that.” …
Lord, fill me with Your love. Thank You for loving me. Your love burns brightly at times. Sometimes Your love is a blazing inferno. And forgive me, but what Beth Moore said about not feeling the warmth of Your love is because I stepped away from the fire… That is true too often. I still make mistakes. But You forgive. You love unconditionally. And I feel the fire of Your presence when I give of myself unconditionally. Praise be Your name. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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