Matthew 13:44-52
New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
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.
45 “Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When
he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought
it.
47 “Once
again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and
caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up
on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but
threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will
come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and
throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
51 “Have
you understood all these things?” Jesus
asked.
“Yes,”
they replied.
Have you ever gone treasure
hunting? I haven’t gone but I have heard
of those that do, they generally get hooked on it. Like Geo-Cashing, they go off coordinates to
find hidden treasures much like the old fashioned treasure maps. They have clues along the way and when they
find the treasures they leave their mark and go on to the next treasure. I haven’t figured out who hides the treasures
and post them for others to see. I guess
sometimes they keep the treasures and sometimes they just make some type of
indication that they found it. Seems
like fun but if you don’t get anything in return, I don’t know what the use of
finding it would be unless you just enjoy bragging rights.
When I first read Jesus words today,
I couldn’t help but think about geo-cashing except when the man found the
treasure in the field he went and sold everything he had and bought the field
because he wanted it so much. He didn’t
go out and tell others where it was at, he hid it and went and sold
everything. Likewise, the merchant who
wanted the fine pearl went and sold everything so he could have the finest.
Is Jesus saying that we must sell
everything to become a part of the kingdom of Heaven? I believe what He is saying that when we
truly seek Him we will find the most precious treasure that we have ever seen
and that we will want to rid ourselves of the unnecessary things of life and be
totally sold out for Him. When we are in
possession of the most valued pearl, we want nothing less than to keep it and
we will sell everything in order to do so. Does that mean we must live as poor people? How do you qualify poverty? Do you remember the blog on being hungry and
thirsty? If not you may want to review
it at http://seekinghimwithallourhearts.blogspot.com/2011/11/are-you-hungry-and-thirsty.html. God
wants nothing more than for us to empty ourselves, in essence, sell everything
in order to live for Him. If something
is causing us to lose our focus on Him then we need to rid ourselves of it so
we can once again be led by Him, not the world.
We should live an abundant life through
Him.
When I was the principal
of a charter school my students would tell me that I was rich. Taking into consideration how many of them
were raised and thinking about where they lived, I am sure it appeared to them
that I was “rich” but I would always tell them that it is not money that makes
us rich. My faith in the Lord and Savior
is what makes me rich. Rich to me is
living a full life with joy in all circumstances. It does not mean that I have to have a huge
beautiful house and drive a fine car but it means that in everything I do I
recognize that it is not by my power but the power of the One that lives within
me. Selling everything that I have means
that I hold nothing back for my worldly pleasure but give it all to Him in
order to have in my possession that precious pearl called the Kingdom of
Heaven. This is a daily evaluation of
life. Anything that I hold dearly needs
to be lifted up to Him and given to Him.
I need to ask Him daily, “In what way do the things that I do, say, and
own bring glory to you Father?” If I see
that it is only bringing earthly pleasure to me, then it is most likely an
earthly treasure not a Heavenly treasure.
Have you ever felt
that God will bless us with earthly
possessions because we are good people and we deserve it? Maybe you wanted a certain car or a big
beautiful house and you prayed about it and got it. I myself find that a
vehicle can bring me more satisfaction than it brings my Lord unless I use it
for His glory. My vehicle can be used to
bring God glory by letting others borrower it to go and learn
more about our Lord and Savior, such as church camp or a Christian concert or I
can use it to take someone to a doctor’s appointment, or to travel to another
place in order to share the Gospel. But,
if that vehicle is something that sits in the garage, something that I take
hours at a time washing and polishing, and it is used only for my pleasure,
then, I think it is an earthly treasure that I am trying to make a Heavenly
treasure. I can talk all I want about
how God allowed me to have it but in the end it was purchased for my pleasure
and it will remain an earthly treasure. The
same goes for a large house. I have
always wanted a large house. I think
they are beautiful and along with that large house I have always wanted one of
those kitchens that look like something that would be in a 5 star restaurant. But if that house remains empty and God is
not spoken in that house it only satisfies my earthly desires. If I have to work overtime in order to
maintain a large house and spend more time cleaning it than spending time in
the Word, what use it that house to me?
I am content to live in my humble abode and bring glory and honor to Him
by serving God through serving others in my home. In our church service today the pastor gave a
message so similar to this blog that I was simply amazed. He used Luke
6:20 - 26
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed
are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice
in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that
is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24 “But
woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
The pastor
pointed out that it does not matter what we own, larger or small, if we find
ourselves focusing more on ourselves than on our Lord, we are going to be
classified as “rich”. ALL that we have
must be given to Him, just as the man that found the pearl and sold everything
else so that He could have that pearl.
Continuing
on in the scripture for today we see in verses
47 – 51 that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net with the good fish
and bad fish which will be sorted in the end and the bad fish will be thrown into
the fire and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I would rather have Jesus, be true to Him,
than to have everything in this world. Listen
to this song and ask yourself, “Where do I belong? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOtsB4O1p3o We should never be satisfied with this world but continually
be seeking the Kingdom of Heaven with all our hearts.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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