By Guest Columnist Spencer Sullivan, Pastor, Pelahatchie Baptist
We’ve all heard the quote: “Value (or beauty) is in the eye of the beholder”. Which means, of course, that the value or worth of something varies according to the assessment of each individual. What one person believes to be extremely valuable may hold little or no value to someone else and vice versa. With that in mind, what in your life holds the most value? According to your eyes, what is the greatest treasure you can attain? It may not be something material. Maybe it is something that money can’t buy. Is it a relationship? Is it love or joy or happiness or peace or rest? Or maybe it is material. Is it land, a house, a vehicle, jewels, etc.? Whatever it is, as the beholder of value, in your eyes what it is worth? Is there a price?
As the Beholder of everything, Jesus shared a couple of short parables to communicate the value of the Kingdom of God (Heaven). They are found in Matthew 13:44-46. They go like this: “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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” In one case a man stumbled across a great treasure in a field and his response was to sell and give up everything else in his life so that he could buy the field and therefore attain this great treasure. In the other parable, the merchant was searching for what seemed unattainable. It was his job to search for pearls and then resell them in order to earn a living. In his pursuit, he was always searching for the one pearl of great price, probably something he never thought he’d see. However when he did find it, his response was to sell and give up everything else in his life in order to purchase this precious pearl of great value.
Through these parables, Jesus is communicating the value of finding the Kingdom of God. As the Creator and Beholder of all things, in this case, Jesus’ valuation of the Kingdom trumps our individual perspectives of value and worth. He is the One that sets the value because He sees and knows all things. And He is telling us that he or she who finds the Kingdom of God has found the greatest treasure there is because finding the Kingdom of God means finding eternal life, eternal joy, eternal love, eternal peace, and eternal rest. And the value of this treasure is worth giving up everything else of value in this world. Those that have given their lives for the Kingdom illustrate this truth. They gave all, because they knew they had found the greatest treasure and knew the apostle Paul’s words from Philippians 1:21 to be true: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”.
So, what is it again that holds the most value in your eyes? Whatever it is, my goal is not to diminish the value that you hold it to have. I’m just saying that finding the Kingdom of God holds even more value because it is eternal and everlasting. In the parables, one man stumbled upon it while the other was searching. If you have yet to find the greatest treasure, whether you are searching for it or not, my appeal to you is to consider Jesus (Hebrews 3:1). Repent and believe in faith and then behold the greatest treasure that can be found!
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