January 20: “Forsaking All to Follow Him”

7 Minute Read

TODAY’S BIBLE READING:

Genesis 41:17–42:17
Matthew 13:24-46
Psalm 18:1-15
Proverbs 4:1-6

TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Matthew 13:44 (CSB) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.”

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):

When Jesus used the phrase, “kingdom of Heaven,” he was referring to His kingdom on earth. He is King Jesus and every person who receives Him as their Savior and Lord becomes a part of the Kingdom. In the Kingdom, we live our lives in submission to King Jesus as we enjoy Him and the life He has given to us.

So, as Jesus spoke the words that are our Verse for Today, He was telling a brief story to help His disciples understand what the Kingdom is like. In essence, He was telling them what it is like to be saved, to be a Jesus-follower.

Matthew 13:44 (CSB) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.”

Please allow me to retell this story, adding in some details to paint a more vivid picture of what Jesus was describing.

A man was walking through a field one day. He needed to get some supplies so he had walked to the nearest city, made his purchases, and now was on his way back home.

Even though the sun’s rays beat mercilessly down upon him, he was enjoying the walk. It gave him time to reflect. It also allowed him some time to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation around Him.

And, of course, he had his staff with him. The long stick would come in handy if some ill-intentioned animal came barreling toward him. In the meanwhile, it served as a stabilizer as he walked on uneven ground. As it pierced the ground with each step, it helped him to keep his balance.

He was walking across a field owned by a local farmer who he did not know. As he neared a lone shade tree in the middle of the field, his staff pierced the ground … and hit something solid. His ears told him that it wasn’t a rock. The “thud” sounded very unusual.

His curiosity got the best of him and he stopped walking. He thrust his staff into the ground again and heard the same sound. He slowly dropped to his knees and began digging into the ground with his hands.

Beneath a thin layer of sand he discovered a box. Someone had obviously buried it … but what was in it?

As he opened the box, his mouth dropped. It was filled with gold coins. As he looked around to make sure that no one was watching him, he took a quick tally and realized that the wealth in that box was greater than everything he owned. In fact, the few coins he held in his hand could easily be enough to purchase his home, his furniture, his donkey, his clothes, and everything else. But the box was filled with handfuls and more handfuls of coins.

What was he to do? To take the box of immense wealth would be theft. The box wasn’t his because the field that the box was in wasn’t his.

He knew what he would do! He closed the box, put it back into the ground, covered it up, and ran home … and put everything up for sale. He didn’t have enough money on hand so he was going to sell everything he had, and then purchase the field with the money. Then, the box and its wealth would be his, too.

When he told his wife that they were selling their house, she panicked. Then when he told her that they were also selling their animals, their clothes, everything(!), she thought he had lost his mind. It didn’t make sense to her.

But, it made perfect sense to him. When he sold everything he had, he would use the money to purchase the field. When the wealth in the box became his, his financial worth would go up exponentially. When the field became his, he would take the treasure and purchase a much larger house for his wife. He would provide even more beautiful clothes for her. There would be plenty of money to do just about anything they wanted to do.

The temporary loss of selling everything was worth it in light of the incredible wealth that they were going to gain.

Here are Jesus’s words again:

Matthew 13:44 (CSB) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.”

That, my friends, is how Jesus described the kingdom of Heaven. If we truly realized what is ours to be gained by entering the Kingdom, then we would easily let go of so much that we are grasping in this life.

Far too many “Christians” are living for this life. They are getting all they can, canning all they get, and then sitting on the can. Jesus calls us to live differently. Instead of living for ourselves and this world, we must give up self-rule and submit to Him. We should live for Him … whatever that requires of us.

Because if we truly realized what is to be gained by being willing to give up so much of the stuff that we chase after, we would gladly do what the man in Jesus’ parable did. We would also understand what He is saying in these closing words…

Matthew 16:24-27 (CSB) “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.'”