Why Keep The Kingdom of Heaven to Yourself?
Wednesday, July 27th, 2022
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” ~ Mt 13:44-46
Today, the Gospel inspired a question that I don’t necessarily have an answer to. I’ll share the answer that comes to mind, but it’s more for reflection purposes.
Jesus is going through a series of comparisons of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The first one he talks about the Kingdom of Heaven being like a treasure that you find on a field, hide it again, and then you buy the field so that you can enjoy it.
The second one is about a pearl. If a merchant finds a great pearl, he sells everything he has to buy it.
The question that I’m reflecting on is why would I keep the kingdom of heaven to myself?
I’m probably misreading the Gospel. Since there’s no further explanation from Jesus, I’m guessing.
Why would I buy the field that has the treasure and not use it, but bury it again? So, it’s just going to be there, and I’m like hanging out with it for the rest of my life.
Why not just share it?
The answer that comes to mind, which is probably wrong, is that it seems this journey of knowing God and being aligned with his will is deeply personal.
It’s a journey where the treasure’s or the pearl’s value is so subjective that I wouldn’t be able to share its value with someone else. Like if I were to explain the Kingdom of Heaven to someone else in my words and how I see it, they won’t get it because the experience is so personal.
I can point them in a certain direction, but I can’t tell them exactly where to dig because, even if they find it, they’ll open the box and won’t see anything of value because they don’t see value the same way I do.
Hence, each person has to have their own experience of what is the Kingdom of Heaven. Once found, I can appreciate why find all means necessary to stay in it, to stay in the feeling of being with God, the feeling of universal love, the feeling of goodness, of creativity, expansion, and care.
That’s my take on it.
What would be your answer?
~Juan
