The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-08-03
(BY WILLIAM T. ELLIs0

the Kingdom. Matt, 1S:44-oo'
(BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.)
The memory of Hindu guru, or
teacher, sitting under DO tree az
Jaipur in India, surrounded by cir :
Gle OF eager listeners, men, women ana
children. recurs to me as 1 take up this
story of the great out of doors Ieach-
er. The eagerness OF these 1hoidi II
listeners must have been akin TO thaI
of the crowd who gathered on tne
shore of the northern border OF the
Lake of Galilee and listened 10 me me
Teacher who sat in a boat ana taus ~
them, not as the scribes and the pharl+
sees. their conventional teachers' Jul
as one having authority. .,.
1t was the rule for religious teach-
ers to draw their lessons from tne &C
cepted books, but this unconF en- Iona ~, a.
"a bbi who was derided by HIS enemies
as only a journeyman carpenter, lolu
stories about the common life whlcn
had been familiar to all His hearers
from earliest childhood: ne cIotlie of
His Hottest teaching in the hgures OF
every day The prOfoundeSt Wlsooh
may be expressed in the pldlnese
speech A new sancity to the thinss
of the ordinary days was impaired py
Jesus 1t was in His spirit that one
of His modern disciples wrote
zone stone the more swings to It's
place ,, --.,,
1t is enough that by Thy grace
I saw naught common in Thy earth
The Inexpressible Kingdom
Four of the stories or parallels told
that day, to the music OF the soIt zap
ming of Galilee's waves against the
Sides of the boat and the pebbly beach,
make I'D the present sunday school
lesson. These are the parallels OF the
treasure hidden in the field, OF the
pearl of great price, OF the net ana
the householder. All have to do with
the one major theme or the MASTER at
this time, the Kingdom OF Heaven
truth so rich and many sided tnat IL
needed many figures and forms for It's
exnression. AS lover Hkens his
sweetheart to a star, to a flower, to a
Jewel so Jesus seemed to search ms
knowledge to find parallels and para
bles for the Incompatible and mex
pressible Kingdom of Heaven.
AS we enter upon the study of the
bIes themselves, let it be by a
Contemplation of the greatness anu
glory of this kingdom which engroSseu
The thought of Jesus. The search for
It has been the greatest quest of the
ages We read its meaning to the nrsC
eenturies in the catacombS OF Rome
in the magnificent ruins at EpheSus, IN
4be ancient manuscripts from the Nile
Ali through the centuries the Kingdom
passion has burned more or less
brightly in the hearts of the best men
and women. Never did 1t glow SO
brilliantly as today. The supreme pas
sion of this twentieth century, Whether
men realize it as such or not, is the
endeavor to bring to pass the hlhsooIli
of Heaven on earth
OrientaIs and sAntikas."
More than once in the villages of
Mesopotamia I have wandered about
without an interpreter, pronounclng
only the magic word, "antlka, mop
3ns to find some treasure of archeol-
ogy-a coin, a seal, or a cunieform IN
scription. To this. in good part L owe
a collection of antiquities. for the an
cient passion of the oriental to seek TOT
hid treasures still abides in undated
ardor. Indeed, it has been increased by
the value which civilization has placed
1Ipon antiquities. The dweller in the Lee
want is allured by the consciousness
that he may be walking over priceless
treasure-a sarcophagus like that OF
Alexander, which was dug up at Sidon,
ton. I secured scores of coins. none
ter than the Crusades, from the viii
layers of Syria and Mesopotamia.
So this parable of the husbandman
who found a treasure hidden in his
field and then sold all that he had
that he might buy the field. seems very
natural to one who possesses even a sup
critical knowledge of the Orient. Moth
er Earth has been the great banker CT
Asia. Even to this day some of the
native Indian princes bury their treas
ure.
The point of the parable is that the
Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure be-
yond measure, and that it may be come
upon unexpectedly. The farmer thought
only to get grain, when he suddenly
found gold. The treasure was more
that he had ever dreamed Of For
tunately, he had the wisdom to see ITS
value and to secure it. It is always a
good investment to find the Kingdom 1T
any price 1t is treasure that grows