Matt 13:44-45
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
What could be so valuable to make a man sell everything he had just to possess it? What could be so valuable to a businessman that will make him invest everything he had on it? Asking myself that question without context, it’s natural to men on a particular person in my life, career, a huge chunk of money probably higher than the value of what I already possess etc. However it puts things into perspective to know that Jesus was illuminating through this parable that the Kingdom of God is much more valuable than everything we value! I mean on paper, that sounds great! But the reality is we often live our lives not giving worth to this revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven. We would rather value based on what is instantly gratifying for our flesh for example. The reason these men were able to find the treasure or the pearl was because they sort after it while everybody else ignored or valued something else. Seek first after the Kingdom and its righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you. We may continually declare that God is first in our lives but our lives don’t actually reflect Him being first. It is very important to periodically take inventory of our lives by asking questions like – ‘What am I valuing more than my relationship with God right now?’ or ‘What is taking priority in terms of allocating the resources God has given me?’ Asking these questions – with the help of the Holy Spirit in prayer – will allow us to re-align our values with God’s Kingdom.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you that the value of your Kingdom is unmatched. Father, I declutter my life to allow you to take the center stage and to fill me up with all of you and with the hunger for what you value.