(The following is the January 15 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read Matthew 13 and pay close attention to verses 44-46.)
What is your most valuable treasure? Answers may include family, home, heirlooms, bank accounts, freedom, work, prestige, power, pleasure, hobbies, collections, friends, cars, pets, and more. The Christian’s greatest treasure should be the kingdom of Heaven and our Savior, Christ, whose presence makes it priceless. Jesus’ parables in today’s passage compare the kingdom of Heaven to buried treasure discovered in a field – a treasure so valuable that a man sells everything he has and buys the property. Jesus also compares it to a merchant who finds the ultimate priceless pearl and sells everything he has to own the one pearl worth more than any other.
Do you cherish as priceless treasure the kingdom of Heaven? Do you count as priceless the promise of God that he will one day gather his children with him in his kingdom for all eternity? Do your actions compare to the man who bought the field or the merchant who purchased the pearl? Have you sacrificed as they did to demonstrate your commitment to Christ and his kingdom? Consider what God’s kingdom is worth:
It is worth our heart’s desires. No other treasure is eternal.
It is worth our time. There is no surer investment.
It is worth our material possessions. We’ll never see a funeral hearse pulling a moving trailer. No earthly possessions go with us from this life to the next, so we should generously give to expand God’s kingdom.
It is worth pleading with the lost while there is still time for them to come to Christ in repentance and faith.
Do you treasure above all the kingdom of Heaven and Christ, who makes it priceless?
Next Step:
Review your calendar and expenses for the past month. Do they show that you cherish the kingdom of Heaven above all else?