Jesus continues teaching about the kingdom of God in parables. In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus focuses on the value of knowing and serving God.
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
These two parables are short, quick to read, and amongst multiple parables. Be careful not to read over them too quickly. Think on them for awhile.
It is clear that Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is more valuable than anything else we may think is important in this world. He calls us to be willing to put everything else as a lower priority behind the Kingdom of Heaven. The wonderful thing is that when we put God first, all the other things we should value such as spouse, children, other people, etc. get prioritized and structured as part of pursuing God’s instruction. They are not excluded. Many sinful things that we may think are “fun” or “harmless” will in fact need to be left behind.
Reflect on whether or not the Kingdom of God is first in your life. Are you living the way Jesus instructs in these two parables? What are you unwilling to submit to God?
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