Mining For Treasure

Proverbs 25:2 

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; but it is the glory of a man (king) to search out a matter.”

Why did Jesus chose 12 uneducated men to follow Him around and preach the kingdom of God? Was it to effectively start one of the world's main religions? Of all the choices within the tapestry of society Jesus ends up choosing the most basic and low level achievers he could find. They were outcasts and the likes of which the culture had little need for. Most were forced to make a living as small time fishermen and some who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman occupiers. Jesus also chose to dine with winos, prostitutes, and other commoners for which He received further scorn. One of them was a turncoat! You would think if someone's going to start a global organization/movement that they would recruit from the cream of the crop and not the bottom of the barrel.

If you were starting a business or an entity like this and had high aspirations for it to effect how everybody in the world would transact on a daily basis, you would have a different plan like: get funding, hire head hunters, use Indeed, have recruitment seminars, overwhelm social media and have a rigorous interview and training process. On top of that a major media presence and marketing program par excellence to create a base of clients ready made when the product or serviced “dropped”. The excitement created about this new and revolutionary thing that the world couldn’t live without would be ubiquitous.

But that’s not how Jesus started the greatest entity in all of human history. No, Jesus had a different strategy. First, He conceals truths and mysteries of the Kingdom of God, the likes of which He had already spent the last 2000 years or so (verified by scripture) preparing to “drop”. Second, the 12 fishermen/tax collector disciples by default become the vehicle through which He would confound the accepted and transform the world. To their own demise, the intelligentsia and the super religious rejected Jesus. They stumbled over the mystery, the promise and the truth which was partially shaded.

God is the only one who conceals truths and mysteries from us and it is Glorious in His sight. But, it is to our glory and to our advantage so-to-speak, when we unlock them. They’re designed to transform us. They're designed to free us. And, when we pursue them at the core from a self directed motivation it unlocks the "entire matter". The Truth becomes evident. The motivation is two-fold: an interest in AND a loving pursuit of the God of all existence. When a true matter or a mystery is concealed much like diamonds, rubies, gold or crude etc.. we already know it sometimes takes a gargantuan and powerful pursuit; a literal moving heaven and earth mentality to lay hold of their secrets and glory. Thus the Proverb:

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; but it is the glory of a man (king) to search out a matter.”

Jesus portrayed this truth beautifully in Matthew 13 when he spoke a parable to His disciples about the Kingdom of Heavens growth in us. The meaning of the sower, the seed and the 4 soil types was made clear. He further made a stunning claim that “whoever has to him more will be given”. It was not a claim about seed, crop or money incidentally, but that “to whoever does not have, even what he does have will be taken away from him”. Jesus hid a fair share of these mysteries Himself in the form of parables as well as the meaning behind such. The idea is that those who by choice are open and sensitive to spiritual truth to them more will be given. Conversely, those who are not open to spiritual truths (those who do not have) these will end up in an even worse condition.

Jesus is simply talking about the fundamental truth of life. The Big four questions the existentialist in all of us need to know:

How did I get alive?

Why am I alive?

What is the point of being alive?

Where do I go after I’m done being alive?

It is ONLY when we pursue these we are unlocking the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. It is then that we understand the glory of God. It is then that we reflect that same glory in our lives and the lives of those around us. All I can say is: keep searching out the mysteries and profound truths of the word of God and find new life in Jesus.