I’m not long home from a presbytery meeting. For those unfamiliar with the workings of the Church of Scotland, that’s official terminology for THE MOST BORING NIGHT OF MY LIFE…EVER!

One of the discussions – which went on forever – was over the question of whether or not ministers should have job security or not. Everyone seemed to think that they should, especially the ministers. There are some good reasons for that but, at the same time, it seems a long way from a man called Jesus coming to a lakeside and saying to people, “Give up everything to follow me – including job security!”

Somewhere along the line, isn’t following Jesus about taking risks – about letting go of some of life’s security blankets in favour of trusting God?

The newspapers are full of a story concerning some guy who has ‘metal-detected’ a store of ancient treasure buried in the ground in the Stirling area. To think that I used to laugh at these guys as they combed back and forward along the local beach, turning up nothing more than old coke cans!

Anyway, according to Scottish Law, the treasure belongs to the monarch but she, if she so pleases, may give the finder a ‘reward’ approximating to the market value. Lucky guy – good luck to him!

Radio Scotland was covering the story and, on the back of it, invited listeners to text in with answers to the question: What’s the best thing you’ve ever found?’ It put me in mind of the parable Jesus tells of a person who discovered treasure in a field and was so blown away by it that they went and bought the field right away, to guarantee having the treasure. Of course, Jesus was pointing to the Kingdom of God.

Those things which are of real and lasting value can’t be bought – they have to be discovered. But once you have them, it’s worth everything you’ve got to hang on to them.

I had a tradesman in the house yesterday, doing a repair job – something that I had broken! He asked me, “Do a lot of people come to your Church on a Sunday?” “Yes, quite a bunch,” I replied.

He then went on to say that most of the folks he knows never go to church and all imagine that there would be nothing at church for them anyway. But at this point, my tradesman friend came out with THE answer: “Surely you shouldn’t be going to Church for what you can get out of it – isn’t is about giving?”

He was right of course. Interestingly, he never goes to Church either! But if he was to, he would know why he was going.