What's it worth?

What is the "Kingdom of Heaven" worth to you? More pointedly, what are you willing to give for it? What are you willing to give up for it?

Those are the questions that really define our sense of value, aren't they? What are we willing to pay for something, and what are we willing to sacrifice (not get) in order to make that payment?

When it comes to the Kingdom of Heaven, the answer to both questions should be: EVERYTHING!

We should be willing to give everything and give up everything to take hold of God's Kingdom. There is nothing so great, no One so valuable as God and His offer of grace and life in Christ.

Jesus says as much in this passage ... "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." - Matthew 13.44

As you read the story, you can almost see it playing out in your mind. A guy is taking a leisurely stroll through a field when he happens upon a hidden treasure. Maybe he sees something shining in the dirt or he accidently kicks a partially buried chest. Either way, he reaches down to examine what he has found and discovers it to be a treasure of surpassing worth. So he runs back home, sells literally EVERYTHING he owns in order to go and purchase the field thereby securing his rights and ownership to the treasure. And in the end, he has more than he started with!

That story becomes a lesson ... and a measuring stick to us as well. If we really has discovered the worth of God, His Gospel, and His Kingdom, there is NOTHING we own, nothing to which we can lay claim that is worth near as much. No career. No pleasure. No earthly, temporary treasure. Nothing. It's worth giving and giving up everything for!

So back to our original question ... what's the Kingdom of Heaven worth to you? What are you willing to give for it? What are you willing to give up for it? If God, through His grace, has allowed you to discover the richness of His glory and the beauty of His Son's story, it's worth everything you could give to fully embrace it!

-Landon Reesor