During lockdown, I’ve enjoyed reading a collection of Aesop’s Fables. Lots of his fables feature animals, so I feel represented. And they also reveal some wonderful truths. So let me share with you the one called “The Cock and the Jewel.”
“A cockerel was busy scratching around in a dung heap hoping to find some food for himself and his family, when suddenly, he turned up a precious jewel that had been lost by its owner.
‘Aha!’ said the cockerel. ‘No doubt you are very valuable, and he who has lost you would give a great deal to find you. But as for me, I would choose a single grain of barleycorn over all of the jewels in the world.”
You see, the problem for the cockerel was that precious things are without value to those who cannot appreciate them. Now we’re all beginning to come out of lockdown. And I wonder whether our experience of Coronavirus will change our perception of what’s really precious in our lives?
So many humans love money. And cars, and clothes. They love their T.V. programmes and their football teams. Meanwhile, I love my feathers and the tasty treats that come my way……….. But are all these things any different to the barleycorn that the cockerel was searching for?
As Christians, we often need to change our understanding of what’s truly valuable in order to discover God. Surely, God’s love is the most precious thing we will ever know. For this love is just like a precious jewel hidden inside the mire of our worldly existence. And when we discover it, will we recognise it for what it is and what it can offer us….?
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