In today’s Old Testament reading (1 Kings 3:5-12) we hear about God appearing to King Solomon and instructing Solomon “ask something of me and I will give it to you”. And what does Solomon request? Not wealth, not power, not good health or a long life, not security or protection. Solomon asks for none of this. All Solomon asks for is wisdom – an “understanding heart”, and the ability to live justly according to God’s will. We hear that God was pleased to grant this request.
In today’s gospel (Matthew 13:44-52) we once again hear Jesus speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven – in one parable likening God’s Kingdom to a fine pearl, and in another parable likening God’s kingdom to a buried treasure. In both cases Jesus tells us that the truly wise would give all else up to seek out the pearl and the treasure.
To me there is real connection between these two readings.
Like Solomon, our most important request of God should not be those “earthly” things that we are so inclined to cling to, but rather, the things of God’s kingdom and those spiritual truths that come from God. Our most important request of God is that “understanding heart” that allows us to know and love God more and more, to love what God loves, to value what God values, and to live our lives in the way that God desires. So like Solomon, we approach our God humbly, reverently, and prayerfully and ask God for the wisdom that only God can provide. This is a request that will not go unanswered.
God loves ‘purity of motive,’ which was apparently as rare in ancient times as it is in ours.
Of course, only He is perfectly “Good” and “Righteous–which is not to say that we should lose heart or that we should never stop striving to meet His rather modest expectations for us.
Once again, many thanks for sharing your thoughts.