"What Do We Value Most?" (Matthew 13:44-46)

Prelude

The Church of Jesus Christ should really be kicking goals! We have the best news to give, and the most effective power source to draw from. Therefore, at times, we will need to assess whether we are having the impact we should. It shouldn’t really matter what the cultural or political climate is, because the One who is with us … is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4)!

It should be apparent and obvious to all, that the church has ‘treasure’ within … ‘treasure’ of great value. I’m not, of course, referring to buildings or any other material assets, but rather talking about the finest of ‘fine pearls’ – Jesus. Looking at these two parables of Jesus, our level of impact, or the difference we make for good, likely depends upon what we value most! Do we value Jesus and the work of his kingdom highly enough?

I read this week the words of Thomas Oden, who asked the following confronting questions. Jesus was raised from the dead – so what!? The Bible is true – so what!? You can have a relationship with God – so what!? His point being … that unless these things: (i) the resurrected life of Jesus, (ii) the wisdom of the Scriptures, and (iii) the saving and transforming power of forgiveness, are all lived out, then what point is there to them. Those beliefs that we form, and come to hold dear, only really mean something if they grow the kingdom of God on earth.

Introduction

The parables that Jesus told, draw a comparison between something from everyday life (in this case treasure-finding and pearl-hunting) and some spiritual truth that needed to be explained or illuminated – comparing something that was well-known to something not so clear. These parables were NOT just nice stories, but they were carefully designed to evoke a response. In coming to understand and apply parables like these, Jesus’ disciples would be better able to both live and share the Gospel in the face of the world.

Finding Treasure

The first parable here is about “treasure” hidden in a field, and how this explains something about the “kingdom of heaven” (which is Matthew’s chosen term for what is generally known as the “kingdom of God”). Who knows how long this “treasure” has been buried in this field!? Someone at some time … thought it was a good idea to bury treasure on this land. As there were no banks as such, money or valuable goods had to be stored somewhere. It could have been there a long time, previously hidden but never reclaimed.

If we were to spiritualise this, we might consider that this “treasure” had always been there ... implanted in the earth. Part of this “treasure” would the knowledge of God's benevolent and careful creation, the fact of God's constant availability and patience, and the fact of God's plans of human redemption. This “treasure” has always been there ... to be sought and to be found.

Through the life of Jesus on earth, this “treasure” has been placed within our reach that we might find it. Yet this “treasure” is NOT always obvious, and it doesn’t claim us against our will. There needs to be some element of need or faith expressed. In a way Jesus is quite unassuming, and needs to be introduced to people. Jesus comes gently riding on a donkey, NOT charging in on a horse.

In this first parable, when someone went about ploughing up this field, they turned up a jar or a strongbox of some sort … containing very valuable items worth quite a tidy sum. We might sense their excitement. And then, curiously, they re-hid it back somewhere in this field. Normally it would have been ‘finders keepers’, but the prevailing cultural backdrop here … was that if a hired-worker found such a “treasure” on their employer’s land, such “treasure” would automatically be owned by whoever owns the land.

This is why this person, re-buried the “treasure”, and then proceeded, such was its value to him, to do whatever he could to purchase this field … likely at great expense. Then he could … ‘re-discover’ the “treasure”! It might be that we stumble upon some spiritual “treasure”, or have it pointed out to us. When we actually come to understand its tremendous value, and see how this “treasure” will change our life completely, we become more likely to consider taking the ‘plunge’ to gain it. When we work out that it is actually affordable, especially as we trade-in all the unnecessary clutter in our lives – then we certainly would go after this “treasure”.

Seeking Pearls

Or, it could be, like we have it in the second parable, that because of the way we feel about our life, we go off on a major search for “fine pearls”; and then when we find a particular “pearl” of great value, we would give up anything and everything that would stand in the way of us possessing it. In using the image of a “fine pearl of great value”, Jesus is drawing on what was seen as the most satisfying thing in the world! Once you have discovered such a “pearl” as this, there is no need to search any longer. There might be other pearls, but nothing that compares with this one!

Sometimes there is a long journey toward faith, and sometimes it happens very quickly – the important thing is to get there; and once there, we need to be able to appreciate the full value of what has been gained. And NO sacrifice is seen as too great (or really any sacrifice at all) … to have gained the “treasure” or the “pearl”. D A Carson writes: “The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies, joyfully abandon everything else to secure it”.

The Kingdom of God

Gaining the “treasure” and the “pearl”, spiritually speaking, is like receiving the "kingdom of God", which is the realm in which God is honoured above all else ... where God's will is wholly embraced and implemented. Ultimately, the “kingdom of God” became evident with the coming of Jesus. Because Jesus perfectly performed God’s will, the “kingdom of God” is closely identified with him. Jesus could say that the “kingdom of God” was near, because he, Jesus, was near (Mark 1:15).

We know that Jesus is referring here … not to any static set place, but rather to his kingdom activity on earth, kingdom activity that he was seeking to draw his disciples into with him. In short, it is having a place, and a part to play, in God’s kingdom … that is of the greatest value!

In Matthew’s account, Jesus has moved from the ‘sermon on the mount’ with all its spiritual and ethical teaching, to living this out in the presence of his disciples. To be part of the “kingdom” requires us to follow Jesus (from the here and now into eternity). As Jesus embodies the “kingdom of God, so can we! Through the life and ministry of Jesus, we can experience “treasure” of the greatest value. But we need to value this “treasure” for the full worth of what it can bring! J Jeremias wrote of the “Kingdom”: “All else seems valueless, compared with that surpassing worth”. Such a joyous discovery as this, needs to penetrate our innermost being.

Value

So, this all begs the question … what do we value most? Is it something material or physical? Or is it something spiritual? Is it Jesus’ kingdom work? Are we concerned about where our energies are going? Are we concerned for the sort of person we are becoming? Are we concerned with finding our full potential as a member of God's church? Are we concerned for how we are fulfilling God's commission to make disciples (and for considering how this is best achieved together in our particular context)?

According to one commentator, “The Kingdom of God is worth the sacrifice of all else, however good, in order to gain the best” (G E P Cox). But how does that work out in real life today? We have families to raise, jobs to do, money to earn. We have other life-giving interests and pursuits. We rightly need to put energy toward building relationships with the people around us.

Actually, none of this needs to be separate to our Kingdom goals, rather these concerns can fit completely within them.

We want to build relationships that are God-honouring. We want to influence our family toward God's ways, and fully utilise God's resources to be a good parent, grandparent, aunty, uncle, brother or sister. We want to be the sort of employee or tradesperson or boss ... that does a good job and sets a good example ... an example that ultimately points to Jesus. And we would want to be a good steward of any and all of God's resources and blessings that come to us. Whatever we are doing we want to be a good witness to Jesus.

If we have a “Kingdom” mindset, it all fits together well! Colossians 3:17 reads: “Whatever you do, in word and deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”. But it does start with intentionally placing high value on Jesus!

Living the Kingdom Life

All of life is indivisibly part of our Christian walk. N.T. Wright says, “What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbour as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether; they are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.”

We need to consider how all the different aspects of our lives fit into the primary and eternal value of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, we should probably be in the habit of asking ourselves the question: How does this activity help us reach our full potential as a member of God’s kingdom? And then another question: Where does this activity fit into making other disciples for the Kingdom? To ask these questions shows that, in reality, we do value highly God’s kingdom.

This may lead to a few lifestyle tweaks here and there, or, in some cases, a bit of a shift in focus or priorities or in the use of resources. For some, over the years, it has lead to either a change of career, a change of location, or both. Henri Nouwen observes that, “A real spiritual life … makes us so alert and aware of the world around us, that all that is, and [all that] happens, becomes part of our contemplation and meditation, and invites us to a free and fearless response.

So for everything in life … to fall into the right place for us, and for the more difficult and challenging times … to actually make sense, we need to put first things first. We need to know what is of greatest value! This is the starting point. Otherwise, we may just be sticking spiritual band-aids on ourselves, that are ultimately insufficient to cover gapping wounds, or working like headless chooks for little outcome.

It has never worked well … to want a little of Jesus and a lot of the world. We actually need all of Jesus, and then we can enjoy the best of the world (or at least participate in the great experiences that God has for us). And, by the way, this often means riding the many waves of life ... being tossed around toward spiritual maturity.

A Free & Fearless Response!

That famous prayer, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth … as it [already] is in heaven” – needs to be brought into reality. This prayer that the disciples were taught as their model prayer, is also their calling – they are to be, and we are to be, part of the answer, together, to this central prayer. Deep prayer naturally leads us to deep engagement, and … deep engagement in relationships … naturally leads us back to prayer, so that we might draw on all the resources of God.

The world today, even elements of where we live, is far removed from the ideal of God’s kingdom. If we value the Kingdom highly, and therefore value highly the possibilities of seeing people discover this kingdom, then we will begin to see changes – in small things and in big things. Circumstances, misadventures and certain behaviours have led to big gaps between peoples’ lives and God’s best for them. Isaiah (58:12), saw this 28 centuries ago, when he described the possibility of God’s people being “repairers of the breach” – that “breach or gap” that sits between people and their Creator God; and also described God’s people as “restorers of streets to live in”.

Let me encourage you to simply value Jesus the most. Jesus not only saves us from negativity and defeat, but also enlivens us with hope and purpose. Jesus gives us his peace, and makes us people that can truly help other people. Let us never underestimate the power we can have for good. From a simple word of encouragement to a random act of kindness - such things can radically change another person's experience of life.

Sometimes our fallible humanness can get in the way, and we can have a detrimental effect. Sometimes our joy diminishes. Sometimes our self-control is NOT evident. But if we value Jesus the most, we will be on the right track … to bring blessing to others … more often than not! The big encouragement here is … that it’s NOT so much about our capacities, but rather the amount that we allow God to work in our lives, and how this is seen publicly – our brokenness being progressively healed, which is a journey other people can connect with, and see much hope within. This is about the way we can point to Jesus.

It could be, even a bit unconsciously, that we are going through the motions a bit. The big problem with this is ... that we might miss our particular calling – the important role we are to play in God's kingdom and his church ... the particular functional part of the body we are to perform ... the gifts we may potentially have above and beyond our natural talents. We are all witnesses toward the goal of making disciples, yet within this, we have unique roles to play.

These gifts and roles need to be discerned, and can only come to fruition through a close relationship with Jesus. Living in the full value of God’s Kingdom also means that we maximise our community life in the church, where those gifts of the Holy Spirit are put into practice. Then this community life is allowed to spill out into the neighbourhood, where we do life together. Then all of those extra activities that we enjoy … can be given their full kingdom purpose.

Our Prayer

Lord Jesus, help us to see people as you saw them – as sheep without a shepherd; help us, today, NOT to wander past the fields that are so ripe for harvest; help us keep our eyes open for all those around us who are hurting, and for all those who are seeking a solution for their heart-felt needs. Help us to go after the “treasure” and the “finest pearl” – to value Your Kingdom above all else – to receive all the resources we need – so that, as a result, everything we do honours you … and blesses many other people. Amen!