A Precious Stone of Great Size

By Pastor Bruce

Here is another story from Søren Kierkegaard (SK).

There once lived a poor, old couple. They possessed nothing but poverty. Naturally, anxiety about the future increased as they grew older. They did not blame God for their poverty, for they were too pious for that; but nevertheless, they continually cried to heaven for help.

Then it happened one morning that the wife, going out to the oven, found a precious stone of great size upon the hearth. She immediately showed the stone to her husband, who saw at once that they were well supplied for the rest of their life. A bright future for this old couple – what joy!

Yet, God-fearing as they were, and content with little, they resolved that since they had enough to live upon for another day, they would not sell the jewel that day, but the following. And then a new life would begin.

That night the woman dreamed that she was transported to paradise. An angel took her around and showed her all the glories of eternity. And the angel led her into a hall where around a great banquet table there were long rows of chairs adorned with pearls and precious stones, which, the angel explained, were for the devout.

Finally, the angel showed her the chair that was intended for her. Looking more closely, the woman saw a very large jewel was missing from the back of the seat leaving an unsightly hole. She asked the angel how that had come about. The angel answered, “That was the precious stone you found on the hearth. You received it in advance, and so it cannot be inserted again.”

In the morning the woman related the dream to her husband. She felt they should hold on to the stone for a few years longer rather than let the precious stone be absent throughout eternity. And her devout husband agreed. So, that evening they laid the stone back on the hearth and prayed to God that he would take it back. In the morning, sure enough, it was gone. Where it had gone the old couple knew; it was now in its right place.

SK then gives this stern warning: “You may perhaps be cunning enough to avoid suffering and adversity in this life, you may perhaps be clever enough to evade ruin and ridicule and instead enjoy all the earth’s goods, and you may perhaps be fooled into the vain delusion that you are on the right path just because you have won worldly benefits, but beware, you will have an eternity in which to repent! An eternity in which to repent that you failed to invest your life upon that which lasts, to love God in truth, come what may, with the consequence that in this life you will suffer under the hands of men.”

For me, the most uncomfortable and yet ultimately the most helpful question that SK raises is whether we are willing to live our lives before an audience of One regardless of how those around us react or respond with their often subtle signs of approval or disapproval. He writes elsewhere, “No one dares to be a genuine self; everyone is hiding in some kind of ‘togetherness.’ Every life that is preoccupied with being like others is a wasted life, a lost life. What faith it takes to believe that one’s life is noticed by God and that this is enough!”

Jesus proclaimed, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth.”

Of course, the opposition that Jesus faced was from religious people, and SK warned that in his day the greatest hindrance to following Jesus was the influence of the clergy and other religious people. We pastors are notorious for wanting to be liked and for “loving human praise more than praise from God.”

Oh, to be like the prophets of old who began with, “Thus sayeth the Lord…” and then proceeded to deliver a message regardless of how it was received. They played to an audience of One, and they were indeed blessed. Instead of grasping at the earthly reward of being well-liked, their reward, that precious stone of great size, was in its right place embedded on the back of their chair at the great banquet table of the feast of the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world.

Selections taken from Kierkegaard, Søren. Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard. Plough Publishing House.