Speaking of Faith:
Spiritual Desire
Matthew 13: 44 – 46.
Introduction
“Religion
is the opium of the people.”[1]
This
quote is famously attributed to the atheist philosopher Karl Marx. It was the foundation of his belief that
humans could create a better society by getting rid of religious belief and
religious expression. It led to the
uniquely Twentieth Century phenomenon we call Communism and its ultimate
expression in the Soviet Union.
Marx’
beliefs about religion were complex. On
one hand, he considered religion to be oppressive and dreamed of a society in
which people were no longer held back by the teachings or authority of the
organized church. On the other hand,
Marx labeled religion as an opiate—a drug which had the power to mask the pain
of suffering or to induce dreams of a fantasy world.
Legendary
psychologist Sigmund Freud held a similar view of religion as an opiate. Freud claimed that religion was nothing more
than wishful thinking that there was a God, who could accomplish all our
unfulfilled father issues. Since our
earthly fathers are the ones who provide for us and give us protection when we
are children, Freud suggests that we imagine that God is our Heavenly Father
who does for us what our earthly fathers never could.
These
two views of God are similar in the way they describe religion and belief in
God as nothing more than a crutch for weak-minded people. Faith is an illusion. Religion is a crutch. God is something we have created and not
Someone who created us.
The
biggest problem with this theory is the way it contradicts universal human
experience. We can illustrate this in
two significant ways.
First,
there is the historical evidence that religious belief has been widespread
throughout human history. People from
many different cultures and historical eras have almost universally
acknowledged that there is a God. When I
say “God,” I am referring to a supernatural Being who is worthy of reverence
and worship. This belief has taken on
many different expressions—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism,
nature worship, etc… Not every culture
has gotten this right, but every culture has entered into a search for meaning
through a search for God. This leaves us
with an important choice. Either, the
vast majority of humanity in every culture and every historical era has been
wrong to search for God. Or, they
haven’t. The most rational choice is
that they have not been wrong to search for God. Therefore, the most rational choice is to
believe that God exists, and we are correct to search for meaning by searching
for God.
Second,
we can argue that there is a natural and innate human desire to find God. Of course, we know that every innate desire
has some real object which can satisfy that desire. For example, hunger is a desire for food—and
food is real. Being tired is a desire
for sleep—and (believe it or not) sleep is real. Thirst is a desire for water—and water is
real. Loneliness is a desire for
companionship—and other people are real.
Someone
might argue that they have desires which can never be satisfied. Some people desire to drive a fancy sports
car but realize they will never have enough money to buy a sports car. Other people desire to fly through the air
like Superman but realize none of us will ever have the ability to fly. Some people even desire for the Baylor
football team to win the national championship.
But these are not natural, innate or universal desires. Not everyone wants to drive a sports car, fly
like Superman or for Baylor to win a football championship. These desires are conditioned by advertising,
societal influences or where you went to school. Desire for food, water and God are
experienced universally.
I
cannot say this better than C.S. Lewis: “Creatures
are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exists. A baby feels hunger; well, there is such a
thing as food. A duckling wants to swim;
well, there is such a thing as water.
Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no
experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I
was made for another world.”[2]
There
are really only two ways an atheist can argue with C.S. Lewis. They might say something like, “But, I am
perfectly happy and satisfied with the material things in life.” Are they really happy and satisfied? Universal human experience and the themes of
classical literature suggest otherwise.
The search for meaning in life is uniquely human. Plants do not search for meaning in
life. Dogs, horses and emus do not
search for meaning. To be human is to be
unsatisfied with the material universe.
The
other argument is to say something like, “I might not be happy and satisfied
right now, but I will be happy if I could just have $10 Million, the biggest
house in town and a new relationship.”
If you think this will bring you satisfaction, then you are in good
company. Billions of people are
desperately searching for satisfaction like this right now. They will be disappointed. This is the only gamble in life guaranteed
not to pay off. It has been tried for
centuries and has a proven 100% failure rate.
The
good news is that people are beginning to realize that there is something else
beyond the material world. We have been
taught by the brightest philosophers that the only real things in life are the
things we can experience through our senses.
However, we are beginning to rebel against our philosophers. TV personalities like Oprah Winfrey are
teaching us about “spirituality.”
Bookstores are carrying books about mysticism, reincarnation, and (if
you look hard enough) books about Jesus.
We
can agree with the prayer of Saint Augustine of Hippo, who prayed, “Lord, you
have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in
you.”[3]
Matthew 13: 44 – 46.
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
(NIV)
In
this passage, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to two things…A Treasure Hidden
in a Field…And a Pearl of Great Price…
It is a search for something that can satisfy our innate spiritual
desire.
Verse
44: "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
One day a
man went to work in the field just as he had done the day before and the week
before that. He worked for the standard
wage of the day—one denarius per day—and had virtually no hope of ever getting
a raise or of ever reaching the point where he was self-sufficient. He would always work for someone else and be
thankful for whatever pay they were willing to give him.
That
all changed one afternoon as he was working in his boss’ field. This field hand made a discovery that would
forever change his life for the better.
He discovered a large treasure buried in the field that no one else knew
about.
This
seems a little strange to you and me as we compare this parable to our modern
day banking system. We would NEVER bury
treasure in a coffee can in the backyard.
But in the ancient world, this was very common. Since enemies often invaded the land and took
over property from the landowners, it became common for people to bury their
valuables in jars. The invading enemies
would not find treasure in the house, and the rightful owners could sneak back
later and regain their treasure by digging it up in the cover of darkness.
Treasure hidden in a
field…This
begins like the American dream…You have just won (found) a Million
dollars!…Something for nothing! What are
you going to do about that Million dollars?
Are you going to tell anyone? Of
course not! That is your money…That is
your treasure…You found it fair and square!
A man found it and hid it
again…This
is kind of sneaky…The man hid the treasure so that he could have it all to
himself…He also hid it so that he could get a good price on the purchase of the
land…Land owner would raise the price if he knew how valuable the land really
was…
Then in his joy…Imagine how joyful you
might be if you won (found) a Million dollars…But wait a minute…Jesus was not
really talking about money or treasure…Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of
God.
Imagine how joyful you might be if you
inherited an Eternal Relationship with God…Imagine how excited you might be if
God gave himself to you, that you might have forgiveness of all your sins…
You might just act like you did the last time
your team or college won the championship…
The
story may have started out as the American Dream—Something for Nothing—but that
is not how it continued. No, this
parable is not about Something for Nothing.
This parable is about Something that Costs Everything!
He goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field…This seems a little selfish to us…We like to
think of the Kingdom of God as something to be shared with other people…Nobody
ever teaches us about taking the Kingdom for ourselves…But think about what
this man just did…He got rid of everything else in his life so that he could
have just one field that everyone else seems to have overlooked. Why?
Because this field was worth more than all his other possessions combined. This field was the only thing in all the
world that would truly satisfy all the desires of his heart.
Verses
45 – 46: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."
Like a merchant seeking
fine pearls…These
parables have several things in common…They both describe the Kingdom of God as
an incredible treasure…They both involve the discovery of something overlooked
by other people…And they both stress that the Kingdom of God costs everything…
But
here is one big difference…In the first parable the discovery is made by
accident…A common day laborer, working out in the field, just “happened” to
find treasure…But notice that the second parable is about a merchant who was an
expert. He knew exactly what he was
looking for and went out and found it…
(He was like the antique dealers and experts on the TV show “American
Pickers!”)
The
first parable was about an unexpected surprise…The second parable was about an
expected discovery…Both were Once-In-A-Lifetime opportunities…
And upon finding one
pearl of great value…How many pearls was he looking for? (Many)
How many pearls did he find?
(One)
Did
you ever think you could be satisfied with just one thing? It is interesting how this relates to the
problems of our modern world…Nothing really satisfies us…No matter how much we
are able to accumulate, it is NEVER enough…How much will be enough?…Just one
more…
How
much money will it take to adequately compensate you for your daily work? How much fame and notoriety will satisfy your
ego? How much stuff (toys, houses, cars,
boats, clothes, etc…) will be enough?
Just one more. Just one more
Million dollars. Just one more
house. Just one more car.
That
is not the case with the Kingdom of God…You are satisfied with just one…The
Kingdom of God is enough!…And it promises to satisfy…
He went and sold all that
he had and bought it…How much did it cost him?…Just money?…Just property?…What
about relationships?
Jesus
did not describe exactly what he meant, and we could make a case that he was
only referring to money and wealth…But the Kingdom of God does not just cost us
money and wealth…It costs us everything we have…Money, Possessions, Property,
Family, Friends, Jobs, Security, and on and on and on…
Conclusion.
Why
did the first man buy the land?
Why
did the second man buy the pearl of great price?
You
and I are so Americanized that I don’t think we could ever understand what
Jesus is trying to teach us…Because we think in terms of investment…The man
bought the land so he could turn around and resell it for more money…The man
bought the pearl so he could turn around and sell it for more money…
That
is NOT what Jesus was teaching… We think that was the meaning of the parable,
because we think money can satisfy. The
first man bought the field so he could have the field…The second man bought the
pearl so he could have the pearl…
The
first man bought the field and kept it for himself and then what did he do?…He
SAT in his field… The second man bought
the pearl and kept it for himself and then what did he do?…He SAT and looked at
his pearl…
Why?…Because
he was satisfied! He had discovered that
his treasure was enough! He didn’t need
anything else!
We
live in a culture which believes it can find satisfaction in material
things—money, property, relationships, popularity…the stuff of this world. We think stuff can satisfy us even though we
have been disappointed over and over. There
is a restlessness and dissatisfaction that is a part of human nature.
Stuff
cannot satisfy, because we have a homing instinct for God. This is a clue which points us toward our
true nature and destiny. We have this
homing instinct, because there is a home for us. This world does not satisfy, because this
world is not our home.
We
were created for spiritual relationship with God…and nothing can satisfy that
longing for God. Nothing, except for God
himself.
We
were created for eternity…and nothing temporary can satisfy our longing for
eternity. Nothing, except for God
himself.
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