These past few weeks the Gospels have been speaking directly to us regarding the gift of our faith. Jesus, through the use of parables, first described our faith in terms of a small seed that needs to be nurtured and nourished. He then spoke of the faith as wheat growing in the fields. He admonished us to be careful of the weeds that grow along side the wheat. In other words, Jesus cautioned us to make sure that the weeds of temptation and sin do not overpower the gift of faith. This weekend we move from the garden to the vast field that contained a great treasure. Our faith is indeed very precious and valuable. We must safeguard the gift of faith so as to preserve it from being lost, damaged, or even destroyed. The merchant of the Gospel today went to great lengthens to retain that which he deemed so valuable. What length are you willing to go to preserve the great gift of faith?