About thirty years ago, a...
Illustration
Object:
About thirty years ago, a farmer in Xian (SHEE-on), China, was plowing his field when
suddenly a clump of the soil beneath him broke through, and he could hear pebbles
clinking onto something solid.
When he knelt down and peered into the hole, he saw an amazing sight: rows and rows of life-size soldiers made of terra cotta clay.
Centuries earlier, the emperor of China had these lifelike figures made, then covered with a strong wood ceiling, and the ceiling covered with dirt. No one knew that what we today call "The Terra Cotta Army" lay beneath that ordinary-looking farm field.
Matthew speaks of a treasure hidden in a field, a treasure that someone sold all that he had to buy. He's not speaking of the kingdom of China, but of the kingdom of heaven, which you and I can discover, and put everything we have, and everything we are, into gaining.
When he knelt down and peered into the hole, he saw an amazing sight: rows and rows of life-size soldiers made of terra cotta clay.
Centuries earlier, the emperor of China had these lifelike figures made, then covered with a strong wood ceiling, and the ceiling covered with dirt. No one knew that what we today call "The Terra Cotta Army" lay beneath that ordinary-looking farm field.
Matthew speaks of a treasure hidden in a field, a treasure that someone sold all that he had to buy. He's not speaking of the kingdom of China, but of the kingdom of heaven, which you and I can discover, and put everything we have, and everything we are, into gaining.
