Summer Shorts - Message 2 - Treasure and Pearls

Summer Shorts - Message 2 - The Treasure and the Pearl

English Standard Version Chapter 13

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “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.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Sometimes Parables are a bit more obvious to us. Unlike last week, where the initial context seemingly for farmers, this weeks parable is simpler somehow because each and every one of us has probably been in a situation where we were faced with sacrificing something in order to get something else.

The earliest example of this that I can recall happened when I was 12 years old. That summer I decided that it was time for a new skateboard, and I am not just talking about something that was off the shelf and available at Walmart of Service Merchandise. I wanted a real, custom built, top of the line, skateboard. And so, my dad took me to spec one out at the local skate shop. After spending more than an hour there, looking at every possible detail, I nailed it down to a Dog Town Street Board equipped with the fastest/newest wheels on the market, Schmitt SS Radial Redlines. The total cost $170.

At first I thought that my dad might just buy it for me, or make note of it for my upcoming birthday…but I left the store with a hand written build sheet of all the parts that I wanted and the total cost written in red. When we got in the car dad made a suggestion…and it involved me and a lawn mower as a means of earning the money myself.

And, that is exactly what I did. I mowed lawns that summer for $10/each and slowly but surely saved enough to buy the skateboard myself. I also enjoyed my fair share of ice cream cones, and trips to the arcade that summer. I also bought a walk-man and lots of tapes to listen too, and even had money left over when I returned to school that fall.

The point of the story is that I was willing to sacrifice my time, energy, sweat, and effort so that I could reap the rewards of having what I wanted most.

And so the question for today, when boiled down to its simplest of forms is this… “What doe you value more than anything else in your life?” Or “What are you willing to sacrifice in order to attain something of greatest possible value?”

In the examples of todays scripture both the finder of the treasure and the finder of the pearl knew the value of what they discovered and were willing t give up everything else to attain it.

But note the beginning of each of these short parables: How doe they both begin:

“The Kingdom if Heaven is like...”

What these parables are meant to convey is the extravagant worth of heaven, whose value is worth giving up everything that we possess in order to obtain.

And so I leave you with this…what are you willing to sacrifice for the kingdom? What are you willing to lay aside for eternity spent in the presence of the king?