I delight in knowing we don’t have to have it all together the moment we accept Jesus. In Matthew 13, He told the disciples, “Everyone who listens with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough.” (Matthew 13:12a TPT) I stay hungry for more. What about you?
Jesus spoke my language when He spoke in parables. Analogies and metaphors feed hungry minds that revel in a good story. Perhaps that’s why I hunkered down in chapter 13. I love a good story. This chapter, filled with parables from Jesus’ mouth, quickly revealed tasty nuggets of revelation to chew on. Two significant ones especially filled a hollow place in my soul: the parables of the hidden treasure and the priceless pearl.
Let me refresh your memory:
“Heaven’s kingdom realm can be illustrated like this: “A person discovered that there was hidden treasure in a field. Upon finding it, he hid it again. Because of uncovering such treasure, he was overjoyed and sold all that he possessed to buy the entire field just so he could have the treasure. Heaven’s kingdom realm is also like a jewel merchant in search of rare pearls. When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all he had in exchange for it.” (Matthew 13:44-46 TPT)
In my younger years, I was taught that Jesus was the treasure in the first parable and the pearl in the second. Realizing His preciousness, the person who discovered Jesus the Treasure sold everything he had to buy the field, and the one who found Jesus the Pearl gave up all he had in exchange for it. Please understand me; Jesus is truly our greatest treasure. He is worth giving our whole heart to. But, when viewed a bit differently, these parables give us our best reason for trusting Him with our hearts.
In verse 38, Jesus had already taught, “The field is the world.” Seeing Jesus as the treasure and the pearl breaks down if we must buy the world to have Him. Moreover, what could we ever possess that would be valuable enough to purchase our place in the kingdom with Jesus? Certainly, all our righteous acts are like filthy rags in comparison.
It makes much more sense to first view Jesus as the person who left heaven and found His treasure buried in the world and then as the merchant who went searching for fine, rare pearls. That would make you and me His priceless treasure! Think about that for a minute! Knowing He considers us so valuable should reignite our love for Him. How can we not deepen our devotion to the only one willing to pay all He had to present us perfectly spotless to God the King? And He was overjoyed to do it! His payment dug our life out of the world where sin had buried us, and He re-hid it in His kingdom.
Perhaps the apostle Paul had these thoughts in mind when he wrote:
“For by grace you have been saved by faith. Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the love gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving. We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!” (Ephesians 2:8-10 TPT)
Let’s spend the day thinking about how much we are loved even though we still don’t have it all together. That should fill any hollow spot in our souls and propel us to live grateful lives joyfully. Happy Tuesday!
