Mysticism & Gospel of Thomas – No. 8 – The Imperishable Treasure

Verse - The Imperishable Treasure

And he said: "Man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and pulled it out of the sea full of small fish. Among them he found a large, beautiful fish. The wise fisherman throws all the small fish into the sea and chooses the big fish without effort. He who has two good ears to hear had better listen!"

Comment

The wise man acts in life like the fisherman in the parable. He acts like others and reaps the fruits of right thinking and doing. But among the many temporal fruits he recognizes the one eternal one. For the sake of this he lets go of the temporal ones. Another word from the Lord compares him to a merchant who had a cargo of goods and found a pearl. He sold the cargo and kept the pearl. So seek the imperishable treasure that moths do not eat and worms do not destroy. Namely the kingdom of God, which, like a precious pearl, is infinitely more valuable than all earthly goods. But it is not enough to possess the imperishable treasure. It is also important to use it correctly, for the benefit of all.