|Matthew
13:44-46|
**
Nothing is going to work unless you do. Because it isn’t
working. It isn’t working because you are not supposed to be doing that.
It’s safe... but safe isn’t working. The lid has been blown off
the barrel. You’ve known for a while but it’s taking you too long to be
confident about what you know. And so you keep walking around the same
mountain, searching for the answer, but the answer is in your hands. You just
won’t acknowledge it. You want something safe. Neat. Something that’ll make
sense to everybody, and make sense to your feelings.
But safe isn’t going to make you happy. Not for long. Because
after a while, that familiar sensation of dissatisfaction will come. This safe
thing is a good thing, but you’ll be agitated, restless. It will feel wrong. The
enthusiasm will go. It will become harder to put in the work for it. You’ll
whisper out loud what you long for yet continue to fear pursuing it.
You should be familiar with how life is. To fulfill your vision
you must make sacrifices. A vision requires upfront payment. It hurts to give
what you barely have, I know. I think it hurts more to sacrifice what you don’t
want to part with. But if you want to stop circling this mountain you have to
give it up. The light at the end of the tunnel will come once you let go. Let
go of your fear, your rationalizing, your excuses. Don’t worry or be held
hostage by what you should’ve, could’ve done. This is your door to walk
through.
Do you remember the story
of the man who found treasure hidden in a field? He covered it up, and went
away joyfully. He sold all that he had and bought that field. It was
foolishness to them that saw him and observed him sacrifice all he had for a
field that had nothing. But he’d discovered something of extraordinary value,
and didn’t tarry, equivocating.
You have something remarkable in front of you. Be like the wise
man. Why would he bury precious treasure and buy the entire field rather than
take what he’d found and walk away? He discerned that as long as the treasure
was in that field, the field itself ceased to be ordinary, nondescript as it
were.
It is foolish and unwise to leave the treasure buried and
fearfully skulking away. Sacrifice for it. Give your all for it.
I knew of a merchant once, who’d go around in search of fine
pearls. He stumbled upon a particularly unusual pearl of great worth. I watched
him audaciously sell all that he had to buy the pearl.
And you. Do I have to tell you that you are that merchant who
has found that fine pearl, exceptional, different from the others? I know you
know that you have. Don’t toss it aside because no one sees what you see. And
don’t you dare walk away because you are afraid. Pursue what you know is yours.
Even if it’s just a field, empty and uncultivated. It isn’t a safe choice,
but safe isn’t meant for you.
