Matthew 13:43-44 tells us that in God’s economy eternal life with Him is worth the pursuit because it’s the most precious thing we will find (My paraphrase). Our sofas often hide things like a stain on the carpet, or they become reservoirs for our loose change, but in 2010 in Buffalo, USA, a family found that an old painting tucked behind their couch was worth an estimated $300 million dollars. The painting, a Michelangelo, belonged to the Kober family who had rolled up the painting and put it behind their sofa after it had been knocked off the wall with a tennis ball some 27yrs before. They thought it was a copy, but while tracing through the family history retired Lt. Col. Kober realised it might be an actual unfinished work. The painting ‘The Ragusa Pieta’, which was authenticated by art historian Anthony Forcellino, is now in a bank vault. How often we overlook the true value of something because it’s familiar or out of sight. This painting is still out of sight in a bank vault somewhere but its value has been realised and changed the lives of the Kober family forever. What less obvious things in your life do you need to dust down and look at with a fresh sense of appreciation? “Lord may I not be complacent about what is precious to you. Help me to value the things you do” – Amen.
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