Prayer
Before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 119:147-148.
LORD, thank You for being with me.
You are closer than the air I breathe,
and all your commands are true,
Speak to me, Lord, that I may truly live. Amen.
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your awareness to the voice of God, coming to you through His Word.
Reading
These two parables express exactly the same truth. The Kingdom of God is a priceless treasure!
Israel, the land where Jesus lived and ministered, had been conquered multiple times by different marauding armies and empires. It was not uncommon for a landowner, hearing of the approach of an invading army, to bury his valuables in his field to safeguard them for the future.
In the first parable, the landowner was either killed or carried into exile, so his treasure remained buried. Whoever had taken possession of his land had no idea the treasure was there. So, Jesus’ parable imagines a man working in the field belonging to someone else and accidentally discovering the treasure.
In the other parable, a merchant was searching for precious pearls. Pearls were considered an extremely valuable commodity in the ancient world, and this man was out to buy them so that he could sell them for a profit. Unlike the man in the field, he was actively searching when he discovered the priceless pearl.
In both these parables about the Kingdom, the main character discovers something so precious that he is willing to sell every other possession he owns just to get hold of this one thing. And that is the central message of both parables! The Kingdom of God is PRICELESS. To take hold of the Kingdom of God by bringing our lives under the rule and reign of the King and thereby entering His Kingdom-Family is a treasure of far greater value than anything and everything else in our lives added together.
But think about those stories again. Knowing there was a treasure in the field was useless until the man bought the field. Knowing where the perfect pearl was, was useless until the merchant bought it. Jesus seems to be teaching that the Kingdom of God is useless to those who know all about it but never receive it and therefore never enter it.
The Kingdom must be received. And it is only truly received when we surrender everything we are and everything we have to the Lordship of the King. That is, after all, the definition of a Kingdom – a territory over which a King reigns.
In our lives, we will only fully experience the wonder of the Kingdom when we allow the King to rule and reign over everything we are and everything we have. That’s the only way to take hold of the priceless Kingdom. And although that might feel like a steep price to many people, it is, in fact, a bargain, for the Kingdom is more precious than all the gold and fine pearls in the world.
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ,
- His Kingdom will be my top priority.
- I will surrender everything I am and everything I possess to His Lordship.
Lord Jesus, I offer myself to you today. I, and all I possess, are no longer my own, but Yours. Use me and my possessions to the glory of Your Name. Amen.
Dave's Diary 
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