Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 2.pdf/348

 merriment is as genuine, at the very least, as the man of the world. And he is not at the mercy of the whims and caprices of other men; for the simple reason, that he hath the charity which seeketh not its own. Like the man of the world, he finds "treasure hid in a field;" and when he has found it, he hideth it, and "goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." But unlike the man of the world, he has no occasion, either in making the bargain, to conceal the fact of the hidden treasure from the owner of the field, or to exult over him when the bargain has been struck. From continued knowledge of himself, he finds that he has a mind requiring to be cultivated; which being closely connected with this world, is really the field containing the hidden treasures of the kingdom of heaven. He discovers the possibility of that field being made his own; not by outwitting his neighbour, but by employing His talents for the service of his fellow creatures. To compass that end, he sells all that he hath; he parts with selfishness, not by throwing it away, but by making it minister to the necessities of others, as to his own. And he also discovers that the treasures of peace, gratitude, and joy, which lie hidden in that field—though not to be paraded in the feigned humility and real pride of self-exaltation—will assuredly be drawn from its recesses, in proportion to the fidelity and permanency of his services. And while he thus secs and reflects, he also acknowledges that the kingdom of heaven cometh not by observation, but is indeed within.