Monday I went for a well mapped out bike ride on a beautiful Fall day. Everything was going as planned. Taking the back roads I was free of traffic and made it to my lunch break destination with time to enjoy the scenery. Then, after lunch, about a mile into the rest of my route, I came across a detour. Whereas I had planned to turn right, cross a bridge and continue back road riding as I meandered home; my right turn was blocked by a “road closed – detour” sign complete with barrier across said bridge.
This really wasn’t too big of an inconvenience as I was familiar with the area and able to navigate an alternate route around the detour. But as I cycled home I just kept thinking about that “road closed – detour” sign. Isn’t that like life? We have our well planned and mapped out route in mind and go about following the map/plan and then – surprise! Detour! Continue reading
In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus shares twin word pictures to describe the value of the Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven). We might call these particular parables “value images” as Jesus tells us that living “a kingdom of God way of life” is like a tenet farmer finding a treasure hidden in a field, or a merchant discovering a pearl of great price. In each situation the finder of these objects is so overtaken by them that he sells all he owns in order to have them. It’s this “all in” behavior that gives me pause with the parables, causing me to ask, “What do we so value in life that makes us willing to cash in everything else?” 
danielcash 