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Matthew 13:44-46
There are some things in life that are worth any price; our health, our spouse, our children. Many of us fail, however, to appreciate the important things in life until we lose them. But there are some things that are priceless, though we may not realize their worth at the time.
In Matthew 13 Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is priceless, like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field. The kingdom of heaven, he added, is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all he had and bought it. In other words, no matter how much we may own, no matter how glamorous we may be, no matter how high our I. Q., if we've missed out on the kingdom of heaven, we've missed out on the one thing in life whose value exceeds all others.
If that is so, don’t you think we should know about this kingdom Christ proclaimed? One prominent Bible scholar estimates that of the 27 references to the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, 18 imply a kingdom that's already here. “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed,” said Jesus, “Nor will they say, “Lo, here it is!” or "There!" for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17: 2021) Sadly some of us come to Christ and make a commitment to him, and then we put our spiritual development on hold waiting until the day we enter the pearly gates in the world to come. The truth is, wherever God is, there is heaven. Heaven isn't a distant dream but a present reality. The kingdom of God is the kingly rule of God in the hearts of believers, available right now to anyone who will receive it.
Those who welcome it discover a precious relationship with God. Jeremiah foretold the coming of this kingdom hundreds of years before Jesus.
Consider a little boy who was riding a bus across town. He huddled close to an exquisitely dressed woman. When he started swinging his leg out into the aisle, he accidentally rubbed his shoe against the woman who sat across from him. Angrily she protested to the woman who sat next to him, “Pardon me, but would you make your little boy remove his dirty feet from the seat?” The well-dressed woman took a hard look at the youngster as if she'd not been aware of him before and giving him a shove said, “He’s not my boy. I never saw him before.”
Embarrassed, the little boy moved aside and sunk down in the seat as if to try to shrink from view. It was obvious he was fighting back tears. “I’m sorry,” he said to the woman whose dress he'd soiled. “I didn’t mean to.” The woman was no longer angry, and she felt badly she'd responded the way she had. “That’s all right,” she said. “Are you going somewhere alone?” He lowered his head and answered, “Yes, I always travel alone. My mommy and daddy are both dead, so I live with my Aunt Maggie. But when she gets tired of me, she sends me to Aunt Elizabeth.” The woman asked sympathetically, “Are you on your way to Aunt Elizabeth’s now?” The child answered, “Yes, but Aunt Elizabeth is hardly ever home. I hope she's home today though. It sure is cold.”
“You sure are young to be riding the bus alone,” said the woman. “It’s OK,” said the boy, “I never get lost but sometimes I get awful lonesome. So, when I see someone, I’d like to belong to, I sit really close to them and pretend they’re my family. That’s what I was doing when I got your dress dirty. I forgot about my feet.” The lady moved over to the little boy and put her arms around him. He just wanted badly to belong to somebody.
Isn’t that our greatest need? What is the kingdom of heaven except the knowledge we belong in the family of God?
The kingdom of heaven we experience in this world, however, is just a foretaste of the kingdom to come. There's a city whose builder and maker is God. The kingdom of heaven isn't only present, it's also future. That's why Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” (Mt. 6:10) There will come a time when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God, and he will reign forever and ever! The wonderful privilege God gives us is to prepare the world for this great kingdom.
Has your family, your neighborhood, the place where you work been introduced to the kingdom? God will bring in his kingdom someday. In the meantime, he's calling us to prepare the way. That's the most important task we have. It's the pearl of great price a merchant sells everything he has to acquire. Don’t miss out on the one thing in life whose value exceeds all others, the kingdom of God.
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Rev. Charles Eldredge is a member of Maitland Church of the Brethren. He has a Facebook page and can be contacted by email: ce1133 @verizon.net.