ON ONE OCCASION, as Joshua was talking to a crowd that had gathered around him, a woman spoke up and bluntly asked him what he thought of the Church. Calm and unruffled, Joshua replied, "The kingdom of God is like a man who had great wealth and power. He controlled vast territories and whole populations throughout the world. His wealth was beyond measure and, indeed, seemed without limit. He was, however, not concerned with power, or even with his wealth. His joy was in creating living masterpieces of art and sculpture. But in spite of his great possessions, he was alone, and had no one with whom to share his joy. Disguising himself as an ordinary person, he sought out those with whom he could share his life. Dressed in plain clothes and living in a simple manner, he began his search. He approached those who appeared intelligent and wise in the things of the world. "Certainly these men and women will be friends with whom I can share my life," he said to himself, and he approached them.

"What does he want of us?" they asked themselves. They were suspicious and looked down on him as a person of no value or use to themselves, so they shunned him. Others he met were highly intelligent persons of science and possessed knowledge of many things. However, he soon found that they were enchanted with their own intelligence and saw no reason to allow this simple man into their lives. He would be a nuisance and could contribute nothing to their circle of learned colleagues. They too shunned him. Others were persons of great importance and had many friends in high places. He approached them, thinking they would, without doubt, appreciate his friendship, but they were ashamed even to be seen with him. They too shunned him.

"Discouraged by the shallow vision of all these intelligent people, the rich man decided to look among ordinary people. They were kind and friendly toward him and welcomed him into their friendship. Taking him into their homes, they shared with him their meager possessions and their simple food, and allowed him into their lives, without any question or concern about his status. However, even among these good people, some soon tired of him, and found excuses to avoid him. But to those who opened their hearts and allowed him to share in their friendship, he revealed his true identity and shared with them his life and the awesome world in which he lived. When the others saw what had happened, they were beside themselves with grief that with all their smug intelligence they had failed to perceive the greatness hidden beneath the stranger's simple manner. What they had searched for all their lives was nothing compared with the riches and the glory and power the rich man shared so freely with all those simple people. And that is the way it will be with those who, when the Savior comes knocking, see in him nothing of value, and so turn him away, and continue to walk in darkness."

ON ONE OCCASION, as Joshua was talking to a crowd that had gathered around him, a woman spoke up and bluntly asked him what he thought of the Church. Calm and unruffled, Joshua replied, "The kingdom of God is like a man who had great wealth and power. He controlled vast territories and whole populations throughout the world. His wealth was beyond measure and, indeed, seemed without limit. He was, however, not concerned with power, or even with his wealth. His joy was in creating living masterpieces of art and sculpture. But in spite of his great possessions, he was alone, and had no one with whom to share his joy. Disguising himself as an ordinary person, he sought out those with whom he could share his life. Dressed in plain clothes and living in a simple manner, he began his search. He approached those who appeared intelligent and wise in the things of the world. "Certainly these men and women will be friends with whom I can share my life," he said to himself, and he approached them.

"What does he want of us?" they asked themselves. They were suspicious and looked down on him as a person of no value or use to themselves, so they shunned him. Others he met were highly intelligent persons of science and possessed knowledge of many things. However, he soon found that they were enchanted with their own intelligence and saw no reason to allow this simple man into their lives. He would be a nuisance and could contribute nothing to their circle of learned colleagues. They too shunned him. Others were persons of great importance and had many friends in high places. He approached them, thinking they would, without doubt, appreciate his friendship, but they were ashamed even to be seen with him. They too shunned him.

"Discouraged by the shallow vision of all these intelligent people, the rich man decided to look among ordinary people. They were kind and friendly toward him and welcomed him into their friendship. Taking him into their homes, they shared with him their meager possessions and their simple food, and allowed him into their lives, without any question or concern about his status. However, even among these good people, some soon tired of him, and found excuses to avoid him. But to those who opened their hearts and allowed him to share in their friendship, he revealed his true identity and shared with them his life and the awesome world in which he lived. When the others saw what had happened, they were beside themselves with grief that with all their smug intelligence they had failed to perceive the greatness hidden beneath the stranger's simple manner. What they had searched for all their lives was nothing compared with the riches and the glory and power the rich man shared so freely with all those simple people. And that is the way it will be with those who, when the Savior comes knocking, see in him nothing of value, and so turn him away, and continue to walk in darkness."

OR AGAIN, the path to the kingdom of heaven is like a majestic oceanliner carrying passengers to a faraway land. Many of the officers on the ship were good people. A few, however, were dishonorable. There were also on the ship righteous passengers who were offended by the behavior of the dishonorable crewmen and decided they would no longer travel with them. One night, when all were asleep, they unhitched the lifeboats and quietly slipped them into the ocean. Abandoning the ship, they attempted to make the long and treacherous voyage on their own. After drifting aimlessly for many days without provisions, some were fortunate to be rescued.

Or again, the kingdom of heaven is like a group of people lost in a jungle. For days and weeks they fought their way through heavy brush and impossible conditions, always fearful of poisonous snakes and wild animals. On the verge of despair, they one day encountered a wise man. They knew neither where he came from nor where he was going. Approaching him, they inquired if he could point for them the way to safety. The wise man thought and thought for the longest time, continually looking over the desperate group. He thought of telling the whole group the way out, but decided against it, realizing that if he told them all, each would understand his message in a different way, and they would end up arguing and fighting and perhaps killing one another. So the wise man decided to pick one person who was wise and concerned for the group, and shared with him alone the directions out of the jungle. Then, the wise man left to continue on his way in the opposite direction. For a while the group was happy to follow the leader whom the wise man had appointed, but as time passed, some became disgruntled and decided that they would rather find their own way through the jungle. So, they parted ways. Farther along the path, a few more decided they would follow their own lights. They also left and went their own way. Those who remained loyal to the leader ultimately found their way to safety, while the others wandered aimlessly through the jungle.

Copyright © 2001 by Joseph F. Girzone