The Kingdom is Treasure

Read Matthew 13, Mark 4:21-34
 
Matthew 13:43-46 “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! 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!”
 
JESUS first described the kingdom of God as a treasure in a field. A story called "Acres of Diamonds" tells of a South Africa farmer who heard stories about other farmers who had become wealthy when they discovered diamonds on their farms. These tales so excited the farmer that he sold his farm and spent the rest of his life wandering the African continent searching unsuccessfully for the gleaming treasure. One day, despondent, he threw himself into a river and drowned.
   Meanwhile, the man who had bought his farm found a bright rock emitting a flash of blue and red light in the farm’s stream. Admiring it, he displayed it on a shelf in his home.
   Several weeks later a visitor picked up the stone, looked closely at it, felt it in his hand, and nearly fainted. The farmer had no idea of his treasure as the visitor told him he had found one of the largest diamonds known!
   The farm soon became one of the most productive diamond mines on the entire African continent. The first farmer had owned free and clear acres of treasure. But he had sold the treasure for practically nothing, so he could look for treasure elsewhere.
   Our lives are that way, aren't they? Too often, we might say, “I found Jesus!” But we then put Jesus on the shelf, glad to count him as “mine” but unable to recognize he is the greatest treasure ever. We sell him off for pleasurable moments and trade him for preferences. When seeking treasure, remember, the stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. (Psalms 118:22) Build your life on the rock of Peter’s confession, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
   Then Jesus compared the Kingdom to a merchant who sold everything to buy a precious pearl. Jesus is the merchant. The pearl is Israel and the church. A pearl is formed when an oyster secretes fluids to protect against an irritant. The pearl continues to grow until the oyster is harvested. Likewise, Israel and the church both began through the “irritant” of sacrifice. God anointed Abraham to a sacrificial life to establish a nation. It grew even through the “irritations” of disobedience and faithlessness. The Father then “paid it all” for your soul. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. (Ephesians 1:7) Jesus’ blood removes sin’s irritations. Jesus’ church grows as it awaits the harvest.