This photo was posted on Twitter this morning: it is my first coffee back in NZ after Canada, and not a very good one at that. I’ve got home, the washing is in the machine, and I now have to manage jet lag. But before I crash, today’s reading.

The kingdom of God is worth a great price: you should hold it above all else. But in the visible church there are those who are useful and those who are not. It is like a trawlerman — be brings up cod and trash fish. The consequences of trash fish are fairly dire.

Matthew 13:44-52

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

We should not delude ourselves… as is all so frequent. Hell is real, and hell is where most of us will end up. It is only by the grace of God that we may end up with God, for none of us deserve to be there. But this is so unpopular… consider this description in the Times of a Liberal leading an emergent style drinking and theology group.

But that was only the first time the guys surprised me. Some, like me, don’t believe in hell. And none of them consider homosexuality a sin or have the slightest problem with gay marriage. (We’re talking Central Florida, here. If the Republicans are going to make it as a party, they’re going to have to let that one go.)

Our liberal (correct me if I am wrong, but he is writing in the NY Slimes and is an assistant professor of English) finds people agree with him. Agree with the zeitgeist: Christianity, like Buddhism, is part of the general American religion of self-improvement.

The trouble is that Jesus did not subscribe to those beliefs. Which brings us back to why the kingdom of heaven is so valuable. Our lives depend on it. Our lives depend on Christ, for without him our future is bleak.

And in a society that cannot distinguish good from bad, do not be like them.