What is God’s Kingdom Worth to You?

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

“One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” You’ve heard that old maxim, haven’t you? The bottom line is, we each have a subjective theory of the value of something. Years ago, I sold a car in order to buy another car. What I discovered that day was, my value of the car as a seller was completely different from the value of the car to the buyer. 

That event came to mind as I read the parables in Matthew 13 this morning. In the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl (verses 44-46), each man found something so valuable, they were willing sell everything they had to gain possession of it. 

Jesus’ point was obvious. Since these parables started with, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”, He emphasized the great value God puts on His kingdom. There is nothing greater or of higher worth than the kingdom of God. And to carry that thought a little further, the kingdom of God is so valuable, we must pursue it with all diligence. We must be willing to “sell” all of our earthly goods in order to be citizens of that realm.

It all comes back to how we value things. Rick Warren makes an interesting point about values. He said, “Show me your day planner and your checkbook, and I’ll show you what you value most.” There is nothing in this life of higher value than to be a child of God, a citizen of heaven. Nothing! So, be diligent. Pursue the kingdom with all urgency. The return on your investment in God’s kingdom is eternal.

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