Friday, September 5
Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
—Matthew 13:44
My husband and I go to the Maine coast every summer, for many reasons. We have good friends there; we love the climate; we love to go out in Penobscot Bay on our small boat; we love to walk on the dirt road that runs beside the cottage we lease. And I love one other thing: collecting sea glass.
There is a small rocky beach in front of the cottage. Every day, I walk down the sloping grass hill, climb down the wooden steps, and get my balance on the big rocks that lay at the foot of the stairs. I kind of get my bearings, as my grandmother used to say, and then begin to focus my eyes. Before long, I see the glint and shape of broken glass—sea glass.
The first piece I saw was bright green and about the size of a nickel—I was surprised. I picked it up and felt how smooth the edges were. I asked a friend who told me that glass pieces have washed up on the Maine beaches for years. It was news to me. I couldn’t believe how many shapes and colors and sizes there were.
Those tiny fragments of worn-down glass have become for me like the hidden treasure in Jesus’ parable. Every time I find one I feel the same delight and surprise I did that first day, and I wonder: is this how God sees us? No matter how small or insignificant we might think we are, no matter how battered or broken we feel, each of us is treasured and valued by God.
That’s what Jesus’ parable means to me.
The Kingdom of God is like a woman who finds pieces of sea glass washed up on a rocky beach. She picks them up, then gives them to other people and tells them how precious they are to God. And she goes there every day, to be reminded of how close the Kingdom of God is to us, if only we have the eyes to see it.
Grant us, O God, eyes to see and wisdom to behold the hidden treasure of your Kingdom. Amen.
The Signposts for September are written by Margaret Jones and originally appeared on explorefaith in 2005.
