Verse: Matthew 13:44-46
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Devotion:
Raise your hand if you love sacrifice. Nobody? Yeah, me neither. Jesus would eventually make the greatest sacrifice in the history of the world, but even he understood the struggle, asking God the night before if there wasn’t any other way to accomplish his will (Luke 22:42). This is one of the reasons Jesus often taught in parables. If you’re not familiar with the Bible, a parable is simply a story (often very short) that describes a situation familiar to those hearing it in order to help explain a deeper truth that was harder to comprehend directly.
In this case, Jesus is trying to make people understand the incomparable value of the kingdom of heaven (being part of God’s family). Not because it’s something that can be bought and paid for, but in order to impress upon the listener that it would be worth any amount of sacrifice. In Jesus’s time, it would not have been uncommon for wealth to be buried underground, since safes hadn’t been invented yet, and banks as we know them didn’t exist. And diving for pearls in the Mediterranean would have been a known way to seek wealth.
In both instances, the value of what’s found is immediately recognized to be of vastly greater worth than all the finder’s possessions combined. This is the point Jesus is making…there is nothing in the world of more value than gaining entry to the kingdom. And while we certainly can’t “buy” our way in, the “price” is everything that we have – in the sense of being willing to sacrifice it all to follow Jesus. When we recognize the value of a relationship with him, everything else we value – possessions, power, fame, earthly relationships – pales in comparison.
Prayer:
God, thank you for offering us a place in your kingdom. Please continue to remind us that nothing we have compares to the value of a relationship with Jesus and eternity with you. Give us the strength to be willing to sacrifice whatever is required to follow you. Amen.
Author: Dave MacDonald
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