45 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Blog Discussion Question: Is the kingdom of heaven findable? (Is "findable" a word?)
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Findable is a word according to dictionary.com. THe one translation that works for this question is : to feel or perceive. I feel the kingdom of heaven from loved ones. I perceive the kingdom of heaven when I am feeling the warmth of God's love around me. when I laugh, or when i cry with someone hurting. I feel and perceive. ~ And it feels pretty good ~
At first glance, I would not have thought the Kingdom to be findable, but after seeing the actual definition of findable I would have to say yes. As laymen stated the definition of findable means to feel or perceive. We are always in God's prescence which means would should be able to feel and perceive Him at all times in all that we do. Although there are times it seems He is lightyears away; He is always with us wrapping us in His love. Hence, we are in the feeling or can perceive the Kingdom.
The disciples asked Jesus (Matt. 13:10-11), Why do you speak in parables? And Jesus replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of heaven has been given to you, but not to them". As we have seen, many of the parables begin with "the kingdom of heaven is like". The knowledge of this parable wasn't made clear to me either. Jesus doesn't help us by identifying the characters. If I can assign the parts in this parable, I wish to give Jesus the part of the merchant, you and me get the parts of the "fine pearl" and the merchant giving all he had and paying the price sounds like what HE did to purchase what was precious to Him. Sorry, if I missed your point again,Jesus.
But if indeed you are the merchant, I doubt if you ever misplaced Your kingdom. Thank goodness gifts are given, not hidden and need to be searched for and found.
I would also have to say yes. Seems like often we think of the Kingdom of heaven in the future and up there but isn't it right here...right now? Are we searching for something that is already here? Just a bit confusing to me..mjb
If we are the "fine pearls" that the merchant has found....it kinda makes us stop and think how we should be taking care of ourselves. Fine pearls are not the run-of-the-mill cheap jewelry! Yes, each one of us IS a Rare Jewel--(even with our warts and dumb doings!!!!) Thanks be to God! ...May we never take this for granted!
Great comments....maybe I don't need to blog!
When I posed the question, I posed it as a response to those who seek God. Is there a God? If there is, does God love me? Does he care about me?
IN contrast to those who try and run away from God, there are those who diligently and desperately seek God. It seems to me that this parable recalls the words from Isaiah 55, "Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near." And this parable affirms that God is "findable".
Maybe we stumble upon him while we're digging around. Clearly God wants us to know him. That is what Jesus is all about. As the Christmas prayer before communion says, "beholding the God we can see, so that we can behold the God we cannot see."
Those of you who know me, know that I am much more concerned about God finding me and holding on to me than the other way around, because I know how apt I am to stray or lose interest. But I do rejoice in knowing that when I turn to God, he'll be there...he'll be findable. And in "finding" him, that is a joy that is worth everything that I might have.
I find rjq's blog very interesting. Never thought about it that way...BUT I LIKE IT! God does give everything for us, we who he sees as priceless treasures! Thanks rjq for opening my eyes to something in this parable that I hadn't seen before, but will never forget!
GREAT BLOGGING TODAY!!!!!
I know this is late and probably no one will read this, but here goes anyway. I'd rather voice my opinion on what I think it means. And I am not answering the question about "findable". Does this parable mean that when someone comes to themself, as the prodigal son did, and we see this "pearl", meaning a relationship that seeks to do God's will, we are willing to give up all that we have been holding on to and give it back to the rightful owner, God. We would then be the merchant and the "kingdom" is the pearl.
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