Treasure!

Treasure!

Matthew 13:44 NIV

[44] “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.

The entire chapter from which the verse above is taken is full of parables of Jesus about the kingdom of God. These parables are pictoral representations of the principles and practices of the kingdom, and what the ruler of that kingdom demands from all its loyal subjects. Please note that this is a kingdom in which you cannot do as you please. You are free to come in and leave as many times as you want to, but the problem is that there is no standing guarantee that you will be able to make it back in at anytime you desire. It is an open door, yet with a clearly indeterminate closing time, which will happen either by physical death or at rapture. You want to be a part of that kingdom before either of these events occurs. Therefore, I have to learn and personalise what the desire and demand of this kingdom are, so that I can pattern my life accordingly. 

I also note that the kingdom has value. It is because it is governed by the One who owns the heavens and the earth, and all the riches therein. I note from the verse above that the treasure in the field had to be found, either by digging or searching for it. The verse above says the treasure was hidden in a field. The field would not have been small, which means the man who found it had to do some work. This is why he would appreciate the value of what he found, and would sell all he had in order to secure the field. Have I made an attempt to search out the treasures that are in God? Do I even know the value of what Christ has delivered into my hand? Am I just content to fold my arms and just coast on, safe in the assumption that I am fine, even if everyone one around me isn't? Or have I even come to surrender my life to Him, so that i can enjoy the riches that are IN Him? 

There is a reason why work is critical to the kingdom of God. God could have made us robots, incapable of emotions or feelings, and we would be subject to Him, whether we wanted to or not. He gave us the power to choose to love Him of our own accord. We would come to see Him for who He is, and then put our complete trust in Him. This is the summary of the treasure available in Christ, and I must do all I can to secure it. There is nothing else this world can give me that will be adequate compensation for the loss of this treasure. There is nothing down here that even comes close to reward for not getting the treasure of the kingdom of God. That is why there is a digging or searching, then a finding, a hiding, then a selling, and finally, a buying or a securing. All these steps are very important. Seek the treasure in God, and if you give up all you have now that are of no eternal value, in order to secure that which you can never lose, it would be great value indeed. God's time of favour is here.