New Gems
I love to look at gems, but I don’t know much about them. They can be fake gems and still be pretty. Real gems can be worth lots of money. If I found one, I’d need lots of help discerning its value.
Jesus was giving multiple examples of how valuable the Kingdom of Heaven is. It was new teaching to His followers and others as well. He had many stories to explain the Kingdom of Heaven and at times they resonated and understood what He was saying. This one story is troubling because of the inclusiveness of the Kingdom. Check this out…
47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.” (Matthew 13:47-52 NLT)
There are lots of fakers in the Kingdom for sure. There are people in the church who are self-serving, and their hearts are hard. I’ve been in church nearly my whole life. I followed lots of rules that were handed down by the church and leaders in the church. I followed them until I realized that some of the rules were added along the way.
I believe the separation that will take place inside the Kingdom will be based upon a person’s heart condition. Does my heart belong to Him? I want to simply be a Christ follower who extends the same grace that was given to me to others. I love hearing new gems of truth from people who have been law givers and law followers until they really got to know Jesus. There is such love and grace in Him. I want Him to speak into my heart each day. I want Him to lead me where He wants me to go. I want Him to prompt me to speak His Words and His gems of truth.
Pressing On!
Dwayne