Lesson 83. A Science for Laodicea

Imagine the following situation. I send you a letter stating that if your back hurts and you come to me, I can give you a therapeutic or preventive massage. Do I need to prove anything to you?

Suppose I give you an advertisement saying that if you order a vegetarian meal from me, it will be delivered to your home within thirty minutes. What will you do? I think you will make a note of these services and use them when needed.

You will believe that I am capable of doing what I know how to do and of selling you what I offer.

Our dear Lord addresses us with a similar statement, desiring to draw our attention to what He possesses.

He also declares that we do not know ourselves and that everything we say about ourselves is untrue. The Savior personally told me that I am poor, unhappy, and utterly wretched—and also blind and naked. I had never considered myself that way. I thought He was speaking about you, my friends. But Jesus looked into my heart and said that I was the one in this condition. To be honest, I had no idea. Yet it all proved to be true. In addition, I was called lukewarm. The most difficult thing for me was to acknowledge that this was indeed my condition. But to acknowledge it means consenting to find a way out of such a condition and to make some decisions. Laodicea’s problem is that she hears the rebuke, partially agrees with it, but takes no action. She follows none of Jesus’ counsel, although He longs for her to do so. Merely acknowledging that I am wretched and lukewarm is not what the Lord expects. He desires me to become rich, clothed, wise, able to see, hospitable, faithful, pure, and open in fellowship with Him. He wants me to learn how to possess and use His gifts. He longs to fill my life with what will enrich me in every respect. The Savior offers me precisely what He possesses in infinite abundance. The essence of the message is that I should not only receive information about its meaning, but also understand what each symbol and every word means, how all of this applies to me, how I can acquire it, and how, after purchasing these treasures, I can use them.

Our world frequently holds promotions and sales in which very expensive items are offered at substantial discounts. The sellers have already completed their sales cycle and made their profit. They need to clear their warehouses and fill them with new merchandise, so they reduce prices on everything. Happy crowds run to buy these things. I think we have all experienced something similar. It is good to buy something you have dreamed about and saved for. But if you spend money only because an item is cheap, and afterward it merely collects dust, you understand that something is wrong. You have been deceived.

But imagine this situation. You are offered the opportunity to own a pearl the size of a tennis ball, and the price is everything you possess. No matter how costly your property may be, the value of the pearl offered exceeds what you can give by countless hundreds of times. No comparable treasure exists anywhere in the world. What might I think? Perhaps I will decide that someone is merely teasing me or that the Seller is mentally deficient because He is offering such a treasure in exchange for my worthless belongings. Yet He does not look foolish. At the same time, the Seller declares that I am very poor. He asks for everything I possess and everything that is dear to me. He makes me understand that this price is acceptable to Him and that He is offering me far more in return. He is genuinely determined to sell it to me. I agree. I give everything. I say yes. As a result, the exchange takes place and the sale is completed. I become the owner of the pearl.

Now I stand there with this treasure, looking at it and rejoicing. But I do not know what to do with it next. I am hungry, I am cold, night is approaching, and I have nowhere to sleep. What should I do? I am left alone—but with the pearl. I have special protection from the Seller that will not allow anyone to rob me. This pearl is valued at one thousand trillion dollars, but no one has enough money to buy it from me. Yet I possess it, and I must somehow continue living with it. I enter a hotel and ask for a room. They name the price, and I show them what I possess. They are amazed that such a rich person has visited them and offer all their services to me free of charge, rejoicing that I chose them. I reflect and continue on my way. My new treasure opens doors for me to places of which I had never dreamed. The powerful of this world, members of the nobility, and representatives of government and business are ready to receive me. Every social circle desires to have me among them. Of course, there are also evil and envious people among them, but I pay no attention to them. I notice that I exert a tremendous influence upon people’s minds, and because of this, I begin to realize the full extent of my responsibility. I learn to speak wise and useful things. News of my treasure goes ahead of me, and many people desire me to visit them and allow them to admire my pearl. They are happy that such a rich person as I has been their guest.

I settle in a spacious house, where I begin receiving people and conducting seminars about how to become truly rich.

One day, I hear a knock and a gentle voice. It is the Seller of the pearl. I open the door and invite Him inside. I ask Him to join me for supper, and we begin to talk. He tells me about the enormous influence of my treasure, its characteristics, how this wealth can be used correctly, and much more. I watch Him and learn. How kind He is! How tactful and polite! He asks no unnecessary questions, forces nothing upon me, gently avoids sensitive subjects, rejoices in everything, praises me, and instructs me for every circumstance in life. How wonderful it is to be with Him! I had already understood much of what He told me. But through fellowship with the Seller, I was able to organize all these processes and begin acting consciously, using my wealth while understanding its power and possibilities. Wherever I turn with Him, I become sought after, needed, and welcome. Possessing this treasure cleansed my soul from petty concerns and enlightened my mind. I became rich in my thoughts and feelings. Now I am able to communicate with dignity even with kings. My past astonished many people, but it has passed into oblivion. I live in the present and look cheerfully toward the future. When I meet poor people, I comfort them and bring them joy. I tell them about the Seller and direct everyone to Him, assuring them that He will receive and enrich everyone who comes to Him and that He casts no one out. His treasures are sufficient for all. But He has one condition for every person: He exchanges His riches for all your property—for everything that is precious to you. He does not bargain. He Himself evaluates your condition and offers to give you in exchange everything He possesses.

I see that many people entered into this transaction. But after becoming owners of the treasure, they hid with it in their new homes and enjoyed their new wealth alone. When the Seller came to visit, they were even afraid to let Him into the house and spoke with Him through the intercom. Then strange things began to happen to them: their new wealth became unusable and began to decay, provoking ridicule and disgust. They did not know what to do with the new treasure, yet they had no desire to learn how to use it.

Then I understood that the Seller does not merely desire to make us rich; His plan also includes teaching us how to use this treasure. I will continue learning.

1. What was revealed to you in this lesson?

2. What is more important: to understand the message to Laodicea, accept it, live in it, or use its advantages?

3. Why is it important to know how to use the treasure we have purchased?

4. What does the Lord expect from those who have agreed to enter into the “commercial transaction” with Him?

5. How do you imagine the process of learning to possess and use heavenly goods?

6. How do the goods presented by Jesus make me rich, able to see, and clothed?

7. Please read Matthew 13:45–46; Luke 12:21, 32; and James 5:1–6 in the light of our lesson.