You know those parables Jesus was always telling? I hardly ever “get” them. I find I’m often left scratching my head with the rest of the crowd, standing on the fringes. I’m looking around to see if anyone has a look of epiphany on their face, and hearing myself say, “Huh?” In the bible, Jesus often starts out with, “The Kingdom of God is like…” Then he gives examples of a treasure in a field, a valuable pearl, a lost coin, a lost sheep.
I guess I don’t know much about treasures in a field, valuable pearls, or lost sheep. (I know about lost coins, but still…)
In Germany, H and I had a few minutes to kill while we waited for a train to a castle in Wartburg. I wandered into a little shop and browsed about for a bit. Just as I was leaving, a display of chocolate caught my eye. There was chocolate everywhere in Germany, but for some reason, I found myself drawn to this particular display. I know chocolate is a big deal. Women around the world crave it, drool over it, dream of it. I’m not that into it. I don’t hate it, but I don’t need it. I like spicy. And fruity. So, mango cayenne caught my eye.
Oh. My. Goodness! Treasure in a field. Valuable pearls. Sheep. Hot mango chocolate. Yowza!
Of course, I didn’t get it right away. I took the chocolate bar onto the train, and H and I broke off the squares, one by one. Each time we said, “That’s the last one.” Then, just minutes later one of us would say, “Just one more,” and break off another square. Good stuff, my friends. There really are no words.
Well, H and I went to the castle and had the best time and when we got on the train to head back to our hotel, we reached for that bar of chocolate.
Gone!
We have searched everywhere for that chocolate, and we think it got left on the first train. Every day after that, I went into shop after shop, looking for hot mango chocolate. Nothing. As soon as I woke up this morning, I looked online for Lindt Hot Mango chocolate. Out of stock. Everywhere. I cannot find that chocolate anywhere!
And now I get it. The Kingdom of God is like hot mango chocolate. I hope I’m not offending anyone, or taking liberties with the text. But what I understand now is that the Kingdom of God is worth searching for. No matter how long it takes. No matter what it costs. Keep looking.