Consider one of his “parables of the kingdom”: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and concealed it. He was ecstatic. He sold everything he had and bought the field” (Matthew 13:44, PAR). Imagine that you discovered gold or oil in a certain property and no one else knew about it. Can you see yourself being sad and feeling deprived for having to gather all your resources and “sacrifice” them in order to buy that property? Hardly! Now you know what it is like to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus!
