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.
AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A MERCHANT LOOKING FOR FINE PEARLS. WHEN HE FOUND ONE OF GREAT VALUE, HE WENT AWAY AND SOLD EVERYTHING HE HAD AND BOUGHT IT (MATTHEW 13:44-46).
TODAY’S DEVOTION
These parables speak of two different types of people and their responses to the Kingdom. The man in the first parable is like most of the people in the world, either searching aimlessly for they know not what, or simply going through life unaware of the priceless treasure at their feet until they stumble upon it (seemingly) by accident. This man may have heard a rumor of treasure in the field and gone looking for it, or he may simply have been crossing the field and come upon the treasure unexpectedly. Either way, the moment he found it, he knew it was what he had been seeking all his life. He immediately recognized its priceless value, and that it was worth any price he had to pay to obtain it. Accordingly, he sold everything he had and bought the field. The Kingdom of Heaven is far more valuable than anything this world has to offer.
In the second parable, the merchant knew what he was looking for: fine pearls. Finding one of “great value,” he knew right away that in beauty and worth it far outstripped any other pearl he had ever found, and he too sold everything he had in order to buy it.
Many people know they are searching for something, for some sense of meaning and purpose to life, and some even have at least a vague idea of what they want. They sample different religions, try out various philosophies, and comb through the world’s wisdom literature looking for answers and searching for truth. Upon discovering the Kingdom (or being discovered by it), they know intuitively that here, finally, is the answer to all their questions and the end of their long quest.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Six)
CONSIDERATIONS
1. In the two examples cited in Today’s Devotion, which person do you more readily identify with? Why?
2. Although the Kingdom gives us access to all the riches of Heaven and all the resources of eternity, some people refuse to accept His free gifts. Why?
3. Entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven is open to all. The King excludes no one from His invitation to possess the priceless treasure. List several Scripture passages that confirm these statements.
4. The invigorating waters of Kingdom life are offered to all without cost or exclusion, yet there will be many who exclude themselves by refusing to drink. Why?
5. God wants to invade Earth with Heaven, to infect Earth with Heaven’s culture until Earth begins to look just like Heaven. How will He accomplish His plan?
MEDITATION
The ultimate power and goal of Garden influence is to develop a heavenly culture on Earth that produces a Kingdom community. God wants to invade Earth with Heaven, to infect Earth with Heaven’s culture until Earth begins to look just like Heaven. His desire is to build a heavenly community on Earth through the cultivation of His Kingdom culture here. This is both the prayer of Jesus: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), and the plan of God from the beginning: “Let Us make man in Our image…and let them rule…” (Gen. 1:26).
God doesn’t want a religion. He doesn’t want a weekend ceremony. He isn’t looking for a group of weird people dressed in weird clothes saying weird things. God wants a holy community of whole and complete citizens, a community that represents and reflects Heaven on Earth, and He wants to do it through cultivating His Kingdom’s culture on Earth through the lives and influence of His people.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Six)
How committed are you to possessing the priceless treasure for your very own?