Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-02

rs covered 1t ana
found in it 80 gold
coins. These coins
= are $500 years
sae224&&2z@Gs26A old, and came from
the reign of Croesus. They are of the
first series of gold coins ever minted.
Evidently, they had been hidden in this
old tomb at the time when the armies
of Cyrus swept down upon this ancient
and wealthy country. They are price
less. The world has no standard which
will measure the value of such a pre-
cious find if they were sold in the open
market.
The kingdom of God, says Jesus. is
like this. 1t is like unto a treasure
hidden in the field which a ma found
1t also is priceless. If it were put
into one side Of the scale, the whole
world on the other side would not pro
duce a balance.
Stumble Upon Discovery
And yet, said Jesus. some men
stumble upon this great discovery
without apparently seeking for it
Paul, on his road to Damascus in or
der TO prosecute the Christians. makes
the great discovery of the value of the
Christian religion as an Interpretation
of Gods relationship to man. The
woman of Samaria goes to the well
only in order hat she may draw wa
ter. She finds Jesus there. Soon she
is drawing from two wells instead of
one. She draws water to satisfy the
thirst. She draws also of the well of
water. spring up into eternal life
Thus by chance the discovery is ome
times made by people that there is a
great treasure whose value they have
discovered.
Again Jesus said, The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a man that is a
merchant seeking goodly pearls, and
finding one pearl of great price He
does not make a find He is a mer-
chant whose business it is to seek
pearls. He is only looking for a good
investment. He must succeed. He is
trusting to luck or chance. He
knows that the careless idle wanderers
may now and then stumble upon great
wealth, but that the only sure method
of success is to work for definite ends.
And the time came, as it inevitably
must, when he found the pearl of great
price.
Thus in one way or another, Jesus
says men will come to a great knowl-
edge of the value of the kingdom of
God. Some by birth and others by
death; some by joy and others by sor-
row; some by the innocency of child
hood and some by the mature thoughts
of the advancing years find that in
character there is a superla-
tive value which they had never real
lied. This was the concern of Jesus. |
He was working for the time when all
men would not only know, but also
appreciate the value of the |
of God.
Character Is Supreme Good
I'VE may well ask ourselves whether
his efforts have been successful. Arc
we among those whose careless feet
have been beaten over the spot where
lie hidden from our eyes the supreme
of life? Are we among the
merchants who have continued to
for goodly pearls. but have sat
Isfied ourselves with those which con-
tanned flaws! Have we dropped the
search for the good things of life be-
fore we came to the realization that
character Is the supreme
good? Is this the sun of our sky. to
which the stars must bow down? When
the claims of God are urged upon some
say: But there is my business;
it takes so much of my time You
need listen no further. They have not
the treasure. You speak to 9th
ars about the efforts which they must
give to the development of Christian
They murmur something
about vague things which interfere.
You know that these vague things are
obligations. There is no use to
waste time. They are closely grasping
little white stones which they
think are pearls. They do not realize
the value of the precious gem which
you hold out TO them.
Thus the peculiar stream of lifc
its course. People are born and
i've and die in the environment of all
he wonders of a thousand universes |
out they never come to a realization
ot the supreme value of the one little
Universe in which they live. For there
s at our elbow that whose worth far
surpasses these things. The buried
of a thousand pirates is not
to this thing which we call
he kingdom of God.
But after we have realized the
yalue, the next question is what will
t cost? The man who discovered
he field with the treasure in it, sold
that he had and bought the field.
The man who discovered the pearl did
the same thing. The cost of
be kingdom is everything that we
The man who holds any.
hing back is, like Ananias, struck
lead at the altar Of spiritual and
ternal life.
Gladly Pay Cost
This may seem to be a joyless road
o travel. 1t appears to be the road
f wearisome and troubled life. Yet
We can say that the cost of character
s one which is gladly paid by those
Who realize that they are trying to
ind some way to make a hero out of
He was searching for an in
.estment. And he found one which
1as worth everything that he had. Do
Iot ever get the idea that you are
acrificing for your religion. You are
lot. You are only paying the cost
or that which you have come to see
$ supremely worth while.
IF some people seem to be giving