Knowing Christ is the greatest treasure
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it! Matthew 13:44-46
What do you consider to be of great value in your life? I suspect, most people would list things such as "Children, family; relationship with God; financial security; good health, and maybe reputation." But it is easy to say and claim that these things are the most important things in your life. Is there an evidence that could prove that these things are really what you want your life to be invested with? From the text in Matthew I do believe Jesus is asking us and to think what we consider as valuable in our life. Jesus tells us about two men who stumble upon treasures. The first man is working in the field. While working, he finds a buried treasure and immediately re-buries the treasure and sells everything he could purchase the land. It was not uncommon in those days for people and armies to bury their valuables. When an invading army was coming near, the only way you could keep from losing your valuables was to bury them. The law was simple: he who owns the land also owns the treasure found on the land. The next story is about a merchant who was looking for pearls. In his search, he found a flawless pearl. Knowing the value of the pearl, the man sold everything he had so he could buy that pearl. Perhaps the man knew that he could re-sell the pearl for a great profit. Maybe he planned to borrow on the value of the pearl. Whatever he was planning, he knew that this pearl was worth the risk he had to take. In both parables, both men found something of great value. They did whatever was necessary to obtain that item of value. This is what God wanted us to do. If we consider something to be of great value, we will go to great expense to obtain it. When we give our precious time to something or someone we show the value of that person or object. If we value Jesus Christ, we we'll pursue him diligently. If we value a relationship with God, we will pursue it with all our energy. If we really want to live with God in Heaven for eternity, then the resolve to be fully committed to God will be proven by the way we live here on earth. Jesus is telling us that a person who is part of the Kingdom of God views a relationship with God much like these men; they saw the treasure found in the field and they were willing to give up everything they have just so they could obtain the treasure. As a child of God, we have this great treasure that God gave us. “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure” This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7). If Jesus is the Lord of life, let Him have the throne in your heart.
