Pearl of Great Price

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 More Parables of the Kingdom          

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-45 (ESV)

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Devotion:

Jesus shares two more parable of what the kingdom of God is like. In both parables someone runs across a treasure and goes and sells all he has to possess it. These passages require some translation into modern culture in order to have a full impact on us the reader. We seldom find treasure hidden in a field as in the first parable. We tend to hide our treasure in banks and other places of safety. In Jesus day, however, burying treasure was not uncommon.

The merchant looking for pearls is in a similar circumstance. While he was not searching fields, he was visiting places of commerce looking for that one pearl that would prove to be so very valuable. When he finds it, he sells all he has to obtain it.

The application for today’s reader is obvious. We are to discover Jesus our pearls of great price or treasured buried in a feel and sell or give away all that we own to obtain Jesus in our lives. This story brings to mind the gospel story about the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what must I do to inherit eternal life. Jesus after testing the mans devotion to the law tells him that he must sell all he owns and follow Jesus. The story goes that the man went away sad because he had great possessions.

So, we must be prepared to give up whatever part of our lives that we hold strongly too and follow Jesus wherever he leads. If we would obtain the lasting treasures of heaven, we must be willing to give up what ever we are trying to hold onto in this life. Letting go of earthly treasure is hard but it is the one requirement for entry into God’s eternal kingdom.

Let us pray, therefore, that we would hold on loosely to our possessions. We never know when God is going to require us to let go of them so that we may enter into the fulness of joy in the kingdom of God.

Prayer:

            Lord, teach us to hold on to the attractions of this world loosely so that we may be prepared to let go of them when you call us home. Because they are hindrances to our living lives and dying deaths that fully honor you. Help us keep our eyes on the prize which is to live with you forever. Let us live lives here on earth that bless each other so that we may be a blessing to other in eternity. Amen.

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