But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Mathew 6:33).
In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells two parables (actually one parable from two different perspectives) concerning one aspect of the Kingdom of God that Christians would do well to heed. An illustration might be helpful here.
Suppose you enter a marketplace with $1000.00 in your pocket. You begin to shop at the various stalls of merchandise. At a produce stand, you begin to look over the fruits and vegetables displayed for sale. You find a beautiful, ripe tomato and take it to the man behind the counter and ask, "How much is this tomato?" The man answers, "The cost is $1,000.00." Now, you've found a nice tomato to be sure, but $1,000.00 seems like a steep price to pay for a tomato. You put the tomato back and pick out a cucumber. "How much is this?" you ask. "$1,000" he answers. You continue shopping and come upon a bakery. After admiring the goods inside, you select a loaf of bread, take it to the counter, and ask, "How much is this loaf of bread?" The man answers, "The cost is $1,000.00." In the blink of an eye, the bread is back on the shelf and you are out the door. You walk into a clothing store and find a nice t-shirt (God's Gym: His Pain, Your Gain). You take the shirt to the register and ask, "How much is this shirt?" The man answers, "The price is $1,000.00." Do I need to describe what happens next? As you make your way through the market, you come to realize two things about this market: the cost of everything here is $1,000.00, and you cannot leave the market until you have made a purchase.
As you continue shopping, you notice that some others have made purchases. Most of them seem sad, disappointed, or even angry. You persist in shopping, and at the far back corner of the market, you come upon a Mercedes dealership. You walk in and begin to admire the cars on display in the showroom. One deluxe model especially catches your eye. On a whim, you ask the salesman, "How much is this high-end model car?" The man answers, "The price is $1,000.00." As you drive out of the market you are happy. Why? You just spent $1,000.00, the same as everyone else. Why are you happy when they are sad? In both cases, the cost is the same; whatever you've purchased, you're still out the $1,000.00.
The answer to this question is relatively straightforward. Neither the parables nor the little story about the market are about cost; they are about value. The cost is irrelevant. Jesus tells us that the men in the parables sold everything they had (their lives) to obtain the pearl/treasure (Jesus and His Kingdom). The reason they were willing to do this--with joy--is that in making the purchase, they received back so much more than they paid. They paid the price because the return was greater than the expense. Likewise for the story of the market: the marketplace is the world, the price we pay is our life, and the Mercedes is the prize.
This brings us to the deception: the belief that the cost we pay for the pearl/treasure is the issue--it is not. Whatever we get out of life will cost us our life. The cost is the same. The issue is value. We are going to spend our life on something and then leave this world. Some of us will leave sad, and some of us will leave happy. Most Christians I know who are unhappy in life are unhappy because they have spent their lives and have bought only a tomato. It may be a nice tomato (job, cars, houses, possessions, money, ministry, revival, family, etc.), but it's still a tomato. These are good things--some are very good things; but if we leave this life without having obtained the Kingdom of Heaven and a personal/intimate relationship with Jesus, we have gotten much less out of life than we paid for it. By the way, too many of us serve God because we desire the reward, never realizing Jesus is the reward (Genesis 15:1). Without that intimate relationship with Him, the other things are not worth what we will pay for them.
Whatever else we acquire in this life, we must obtain Jesus and His kingdom (the Pearl) to find fulfillment and joy. I suggest we all come to intimately know/experience Him first and then enjoy all of the other blessings He wants to bestow upon us.
Published by OPEN HEAVEN © 2008 All rights reserved. Excerption above is written by Dr. David Ryser. Responses to this article are welcome. You may contact the author (Please include this line to forward the message).
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