The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from the joy over it he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. And upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
In these verses Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven (His kingdom) as a hidden treasure and a fine pearl, both so precious that they are worth selling everything that the men owned in order to acquire them. When Jesus called His disciples He said, “Come, follow me.” And at once, in an instant, they all dropped the tools of their trade and walked away from their families, their jobs, their possessions, everything – just to walk with Jesus, learn from Him, and spend time with Him. Matthew was even a tax collector, he was most likely quite wealthy, let’s see how he reacts to his calling. As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. (Matthew 9:9) He didn’t hesitate; he didn’t think “well I’m not so sure about this whole God thing…” Just like all the others he just got up and went with Him leaving everything behind.
Things are still the same today for us. Jesus is calling us to Come, follow Him and become His disciples. (Being a disciple is what He’s calling every believer to be.) And we need to be willing to drop what we’re doing and IMMEDIATELY follow him (AKA. obey him). We need to be willing to leave everything; family, money, friends, possessions everything behind to follow him. If we are willing to “sell it all” to buy the pearl of Jesus and a relationship with Him, then we will get to be right there with front row seats to see Him feed 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread (Matthew 14:13-21), and we’ll be right there to watch Him heal the sick (Matthew 4:23-25 & 8:1-4), make the blind see (Mark 10:46-52) and the lame walk (Matthew 9:1-8). If we’re willing to sell everything we have to buy the field of a relationship with Jesus, then He will stand on the water amid the stormy sea, hold His hand out to you, and invite you to walk on top of the water with Him (Matthew 14:22-33).
I have lived such amazing miracles in my life through Jesus. When our finances are especially tight, our food “somehow” manages to last longer than it should. Like the fish and bread it stretches when it doesn’t look like there should be enough, there always is. Unexpected checks come in the mail for the exact amount needed for a bill that has to be paid immediately. Just this week, my son had a fever of 101*F and I laid my hands on his head and said “In the name of Jesus Christ I declare this boy healed. Within the next 10 minutes his cough will be gone and he will be well.” As I was saying it, a beam of beautiful sunlight shone over us and a slight spring breeze came through the window, and I knew God had done it. My son immediately looked at me and said “Mommy, I feel better!” Within 5 minutes his fever was gone and never came back. No medicine necessary. THAT’S what God does in the life of an active believer! When we follow and obey Him, at ANY cost (including giving up your secrets, your pride and your anonymity to write a book about your sex life), we are allowed the front row seats to miracles in our lives. No, better yet, He invites us to come on the stage and BE the miracle!
Take it from me; THIS pearl IS worth the cost!
Christian’s comments:
Could you walk away from everything to follow Jesus? That’s a tough one isn’t it. However, think of it this way, if you “drop everything” (worldly possessions, as well as your former life) and follow Him, you will gain more than you ever could imagine, especially in the kingdom of heaven.
There is a joke that goes as follows. A wealthy man died and went to Heaven. When he met St. Peter, the man asked if he could bring something into heaven with him. St. Peter reluctantly agreed and gave the man one day on Earth to decide what it would be. The man thought and thought and finally decided on bringing a bag full of gold. When he got back to Heaven, St. Peter asked to see what the man brought with him. When the man showed St. Peter what he had in the bag, St. Peter asked, “Why did you bring a bag of pavement?”
The streets of Heaven are paved with GOLD! If the streets that we are going to be walking on are made of one of the most valuable substance on Earth, what are the TREASURES of Heaven going to be? So as you can see, “dropping everything” is going to be a good decision.
Tamar Knochel 