Look What I Found
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44
This man’s reaction to the treasure he finds tells us much about the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom and the nature of the things that keep us from discovering it. Jesus wants us to learn from this fictional figure’s example and do the same.
When the man discovered the treasure, he was obviously very surprised. He was not on a treasure hunt. Chances are he was a day-laborer working in someone else’s field. When he uncovered the treasure, he was overjoyed. He’d never seen anything like it. His immediate response is astounding. In his joy over his grand discovery he rushed off and immediately sold everything he owned. He just had to buy that field! What’s amazing is how ready he was to let go of all he had to get the treasure. There was simply no comparison.
Two points must be seen here to fully appreciate Jesus’ teaching. First, what the man sold was good. This parable is not about a man turning from wickedness to the holiness of God, it’s about a man letting go of some really good things so he could get something priceless. This man didn’t sell bad or evil things to get the treasure, he sold good things, valuable things, important things, but not eternal things.
That’s Jesus’ first point. Satan won’t always tempt you with evil. He may well tempt you with good; something just good enough to distract you from what’s eternal. In short, don’t settle for good when Jesus is offering the Kingdom. There simply is no comparison.
The second point is this: the man in the parable sold all his possessions out of joy. This was no Kingdom guilt trip. There was no manipulation. This wasn’t a “That poor man gave up everything to follow Jesus” concession. No way. The man in the parable saw the treasure and knew immediately that what he’d found far outweighed the value of everything he had. The decision to sell was a no-brainer. He did it out of joy, and he couldn’t do it fast enough.
Satan will lie to us and say that following Jesus requires us to take huge earthly hits. He’ll tell us that major sacrifices and life disappointments await those who follow Jesus. He’ll make it sound like we lose everything of value if we embrace Christ. Poor old you; you’ve had to drop it all and follow Jesus! What a lie! It’s no contest. When you see the reality of the eternally glorious Kingdom of God, all earthly trappings become irrelevant.
Come to Jesus out of joy. If you don’t know his joy yet, keep looking. When you see him for who he really is, you won’t even have to think about it.
*Want to know more about true treasure? Have you read Enough: Finding More by Living with Less yet? Click the image to check it out.
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