Words by Bev Jones
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Treasure
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I read recently of an experiment that took place in America on a Winter’s morning some years ago, to assess the behaviour of commuters at a Washington metro station. They wanted to analyse people’s reactions to a violin playing busker, but this was no ordinary violinist. The busker in question was the famous violin virtuoso Joshua Bell. His concert at Boston Symphony Hall three days earlier had sold out when he played to more than 10,000 people. Using his 1713 Stradivarius, Bell stood in the lobby of the metro and played six of his most beautiful pieces of music, and apart from a couple of children and a handful of commuters, nobody paused. Out of context, Bell became invisible, and the organisers of the experiment concluded that ‘the majority of people rushed ahead into their morning, unaware of the treasure in their midst.’
Photo by Providence Doucet via Unsplash
​I guess that many of us at the moment, are not looking at this time in our lives as a time that contains treasure. For some it’s a time that will bring great sadness; for others a time that will bring exhaustion as they continue to work on the front line; for some a time of isolation and loneliness and for many more, it’s a time that has to be endured. It’s easy to become so absorbed with everything that’s going on, that we forget that the God we worship is bigger than our circumstances. 2 Corinthians 4 tells us that:
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.’ NIV
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These are hard times, with many people wondering where God is in all of this. I think its fine for us to question and we should ‘lament’ - God wants us to be honest with him. Sometimes we need to strip everything away and come before Him just as we are. We shouldn’t be afraid to admit that we don’t have answers for many of the questions that are being asked at the moment, and we shouldn’t be afraid to admit that praying is hard. Mark Batterson in his book ‘The Circle Maker’ says this:
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‘By definition, praying hard is praying when it’s hard to pray. And it’s the hard times that teach us to pray hard. But if you keep praying through, the peace that transcends understanding will guard your heart and your mind.’ Batterson M. (2012). The Circle Maker. Zondervan
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That’s part of our treasure - and that’s what we have to share.
- Bev Jones
3/4/20