Are you still searching for treasure?

After explaining the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus continues His teaching of the “Kingdom of Heaven” with two short parables in Matthews 13:44 and Matthew 13:45-46.

     In Matthew 13:44 “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.”

     In Matthew 13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

     In both parables, we see the value found was greater than anything they possessed and each man gave up everything they had to ensure they could secure this invaluable item. Although small in words, these two parallel parables teach us a lot about commitment and faith.

     First, the “hidden treasure” or the “beautiful pearl” represents Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. GOD’S Gift to mankind in the form of a baby born to a virgin, is the most valuable possession you and I can have. Yet this possession cannot be bought by any worldly currency, cannot be obtained by worldly power status, and cannot be awarded to the worldly academia. This invaluable treasure requires that only we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins on that cross two thousand years ago and that He defeated death to rise from it on the third day.

     Second, look at how each man is searching for this greatest treasure and when they find it they react with no hesitation. The world view is blind to the spiritual Truth of Jesus Christ and no levels of entitlement, intelligence, or income will every open their eyes to the value that is Salvation.  To obtain Spiritual Truth, one must seek with an open mind and believe with an open heart. And when the Spirit of the Lord comes over them, they must accept Him without hesitation. For they have found the most valuable treasure for all, everlasting life.

     Third, Jesus tells us that each man “sold all that he had.” The men relinquished all their worldly possessions to purchase their greatest treasure. Does this mean we should sell off everything and live the life of a pauper? Not necessarily. However, we must recognize that everything we “own” is from the Lord and we should not put such value on worldly things (they will not last). During this pandemic, I feel we are all getting taught a valuable lesson on what is important and I don’t think our material things seem so important at a time like this. I have a family member in France who purchased a nice expensive 2020 Audi R8 one day before COVID-19 shut down their country. Under French law, no one is allowed to travel more than 1 mile from their home and can only travel to a grocery store. How ironic? To have a new possession with 602 Horsepower that can go from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, yet now can only go less than a mile and to nowhere fun. Although his car payments may remind him of the value of such a car, I am sure the personal value is diminished as it sits in his driveway depreciating. Faced with the threat of death not just to us but to our loved ones caused by COVID-19, our worldly possessions should be the last thing on our minds.

     Finally, look how both men stopped searching for a greater treasure or a rarer pearl. Recognizing the completeness of their search, the men demonstrated the purest acceptance of Everlasting Life through Jesus Christ by not continuing their search, even just to verify the value of their treasure.  As Christians, are we “content” with the greatest gift in Salvation or do we continue to place value on other possessions? I ask the question based on our priorities and the focus of our worries.  

     Priority is defined as “a thing that is regarded as more important than another.”  What are your priorities? In the military we would yell “GOD, Country, family!” But what do you worry most about? Is it our children, our family, our income, our health, or our fears? I wonder if we are placing a priority on our worries, when we let it command our every thought.  We are owning or possessing  our worries rather than our true treasure.

     In Philippians 3:7-9, Paul teaches us about pride and how we shouldn’t allow pride to get in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ. “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Pride is a distraction and has no real purpose in our lives. We let pride get us into hateful situations and allow those situations to dominate our thoughts. Such focus (or possession) has no value.  “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:13 NKJV.

     Have we relinquished everything for Christ? To truly relinquish, I feel we must be willing to give it all over to the One who gives it all to us; to recognize everything we may “own” has no value in Heaven;  to acknowledge that our loved ones cannot give us everlasting life;  and to know that our prideful self-worth has no value with Jesus Christ.  As Jesus walked this Earth, He repeatedly asked us to humble ourselves and follow Him. As our most valuable Treasure, why are we reluctant to drop everything and follow Him.  We need to stop focusing on our accomplishments,  stop obsessing over our failures, stop stressing on what may or may not happen and start focusing on the One True Treasure that is Jesus Christ.

    Let us pray.

     Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you almighty GOD for your Treasure of everlasting life given to us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. With all the distractions this world offers us today, there is no greater treasure than Salvation and I pray Lord we relinquish everything we are clinging to today and embrace Your Love exclusively. Lord you have overwhelmed me this week with Your Grace and I thank you from my very core. Lord as I visited the grave of a young man yesterday, I am reminded of how much this young man loved the people he encountered every day. No matter if it was the first encounter or the one hundredth encounter, Josh Sherman genuinely showed his love for you when he listened to your every word and when he gave you that big goofy grin at your every joke. As painful and sad as it was five years ago, I know Joshua Sherman stands before you today in Heaven and sings with the Heavenly Host Your Praises. I pray we all will sing before You some day and experience the rewards of the most valuable Treasure. Amen