Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
Picture a man working in someone's field! As he goes about his daily toil in this field he happens on buried treasure. No one knows about that treasure. He estimates its worth and decides it's of immense value. He buries it up again and then goes and sells everything that he has in order to purchase that field from its owner! He is willing to part with all he owns, because what he will gain in return is far more valuable than all his previously combined possessions!
Something more precious than every other possession!
The merchant man is a seasoned entrepreneur. He knows his goods. He understands value. You cannot fool him. He has been dealing in his merchandise all his life, and he knows quality when he sees it! He's out hunting for bargains to make a profit. He is prepared to pay as little as possible for as much as he can get.
Then he sees the pearl! And he knows it for what it is! He must have it. What he has already is nothing compared to what the pearl is! If it means selling everything he has for the pearl, so be it, and so he sells everything that he has! They no longer matter! The pearl has become the purpose of his existence. He buys it!
So is the kingdom of heaven to be desired! All our possessions are nothing compared to it! The things of this world go strangely dim in the light of His excellence, and incomparable grace of His presence! We must have it! Nothing else matters! This is the purpose of our existence! This is the reason for our living! This is the conclusion of the whole matter! Get it! Strip the non-essentials! Cut the binding ties! Throw the dead weight overboard! There is the prize, the purpose, the point of it all! The power and the glory! The righteous and the holy! Reach for it! Grab hold of it! Hold on to it! Secure it!
The rich young ruler simply did not get it! One thing he lacked! One thing prevented him from that great prize, but he was unwilling to pay the price! Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. Mark 10:21-22 He placed too much value on his earthly possessions! What he prized and counted as precious became a barrier and stumbling block to his possession of the Eternal Prize!
Abraham saw it! Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. John 8:56. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, while in Ur of the Chaldees and he saw it! Almighty God opened Abraham's eyes and gave him a vision. In the glory and light of that dazzling vision, the noise and bustle of Ur disappeared into nothingness. The pomp and splendor of the hub of civilization was suddenly dross, cheap, and tawdry tinsel. For Abraham saw the city of God! The city that God built! God had laid the foundations of that city, and how glorious it was! Unsurpassed by anything man can build! The highest, most intense imagination of man could not begin to comprehend that which God had shown Abraham! But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10. Abraham saw it all that day! Then God said Come to a place that I will show you, and Abraham left with no regrets, no looking back, no turning again! He left never to return!
His eyes constantly tracked the vision that he saw afar off! For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:10 And Abraham never built another house! He just kept on pitching his tents, for he recognized the city had no earthly foundations. He was a pilgrim and a stranger here! No ties! No permanent place down here, for I see that city, he said. It is constantly before me, so I see it in its glory and the splendor of God! It beckons to me! it urges me on! I have no time for permanent ties on this earth but must be ready to move at His command! And he was called the friend of God!
Moses saw it! He saw the magnificence and splendor of God! It makes men do strange things- this vision! The world thinks you are mad, but they cannot see what you see, what Moses saw! He was called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, an heir to the riches and glory of the mightiest nation on earth! And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. Acts 7:22 Egypt was his for the taking!
Then he came face to face with the reproaches of Christ! He saw Him who is invisible! He had a vision, and when he placed the reproaches of Christ side by side with the wealth of Egypt, it was no contest. All the wealth of Egypt could not tip the scales in Egypt's favor! The reproaches of Christ won hands down! Do not even begin to mention the glory and splendor and the riches and rewards! Moses never turned back! He caught the vision and held on to it! He spoke with God face to face! And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…Exodus 33:11 Of Moses, God said, My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Numbers 12:7-8
Paul caught it on the road to Damascus! He who was Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:5-6. But what men counted as a plus and gain, Paul counted it loss for Christ! He cheerfully let it all go, counting it all as nothing but dung! Something had gotten hold of him, and he wanted to get a hold of that which had gotten hold of him! He wanted to know more of that which knew him! He constantly pressed on, ever forward in his spirit to know Him, just to know Him more!
Let's become aware of what we have inherited in Christ, In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3. It matters not, and profits nothing, if we gain this whole world but lose our own souls, for there is nothing a man can give in exchange for his soul. Let's not become so obsessed with a temporal longing that like Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. He treated the blessing as a light thing to be despised while he pursued the flesh. Life was never the same for him again! For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews 12:17
But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:9-12
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:1-3
