A sound investment

Joe Biden has his feet under the table of the Oval Office in the White House. On January 6th, it seemed a possibility that, with the march on Capitol Hill, a smooth transfer of power was in doubt. TV live coverage of the unrest on Capitol Hill disturbed many viewers. What also upset me was a prominent banner being held aloft by Donald Trump supporters; it read ‘Jesus saves’. Why should I feel offended by a statement of which I too am keen to tell?

To my mind, the setting was most inappropriate. I thought of Jesus’ words, ‘Do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they get trampled under feet and then they turn on you and tear you to pieces!’ Allow me to explain how I came to make this connection by giving an imagined scenario…

Would it have been appropriate for Cliff Richard, having just become a Christian, to have walked onto the stage at the London Palladium and instead of performing three of his hits as scheduled, spend most of the allocated time telling of his newfound faith and then conclude by singing Amazing Grace? No, people had paid for an evening’s entertainment and would have been in no mood to receive that. They would have rubbished that which was for Cliff, at least, like a precious pearl.

Once, Jesus said, ‘A merchant was looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.’ What did he mean?

Jesus offers to ‘save’ us – remember that banner on Capitol Hill? He wants to save us from spending ourselves - our energy, emotions, effort and ego - on that which ultimately won’t satisfy us. His teaching about the merchant and the valuable pearl tells us that we can cash in all of those deep-seated desires which drive us. We can invest ourselves in Jesus who is described as ‘the pearl of great value’. Yes, investments can be risky things but there are a lot of satisfied investors in Jesus.

When men and women give their allegiance to him, Jesus promises through words in the Bible, ‘…those who hope in me will not be disappointed’. Unforeseen circumstances frequently prevent politicians from fulfilling their promises. Circumstances will not prevent Jesus keeping his.