The Most Valuable Thing in Your Life

I attended a discussion group recently, and feel that what I learnt is worth sharing.

The group leader (a young pastor) began by posing this question: What is the most valuable thing in your life, at this moment?

A man answered, “My iPad.” Others said, “Health.” Some said, “Money.” The sweetest answer came from a lady who said, “My husband.” Then her husband (a pastor as well) sweetly pushed his chair closer to his wife and lay his head on her shoulder, while she lovingly stroked his face.

The leader asked, “How do you treat the most precious thing in your life?”

People answered, “Take care of it, protect it, love it, cherish it, spend time with it, maintain it” and a whole list more.

Then we turned to Matthew 13:44-46 –The Story of the Hidden Treasure & The Pearl .

This is a story told by Jesus to his disciples.

Matthew 13:44-46

44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had & bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

46 When he found one of great value, he went away & sold everything he had & bought it.

In this story, the man who found the treasure found the most important thing in his life – to the extent, he went & sold everything he had, just to buy & own that treasure!

One of the group members said, “Why did the man hide the treasure? This is not good! Why didn’t he just take it & go?”

A lady shared her thoughts using a modern day example. She said: “Imagine you are walking in an abandoned piece of land. Suddenly, you accidentally find some gold in that field. You are alone there. You continue digging the ground. The more you dig, the more treasures you find! Now, you know that land is worth a fortune because it has hidden treasures!

But the problem is, you don’t own the land. If you take the treasure, you are considered trespassing or stealing. If you inform the owner, he will keep all the treasure. If you continue digging & people know about it, some others will go and buy the land.

Now, YOU found that treasure. You know it’s not just that little bit. There is a whole lot more hidden, & you want it ALL! You know its worth much more than anything you own. So, what do you do?

You hide it back, because you want it so badly. And you want to legally own it ALL, not steal just a little bit of it. You call up the owner & enquire about the price. It’s expensive & you need to sell all the property you have, to afford it. So, you go back & sell EVERYTHING, and then you look for that land’s owner again.

The owner then thinks, “After all, this land has been lying here for many years, without attracting buyers. It’s not even a strategic location. Finally this fellow is giving me the price I want, for that worthless piece of land!”

So, the owner happily sells it to you, because he doesn’t know its hidden value. He thinks he got a good deal, but you know you got a GREATER DEAL! Now, the treasure is ALL YOURS!”

It’s the same with the expert merchant who travels around the world, looking for fine pearls. While searching in the shops, he spots a really valuable pearl. He knows it’s more valuable than the expensive price it’s selling for, because he’s an expert in this field. When he finds it, he quickly sells his other belongings and buys this one pearl! The shop owner doesn’t realize its value, but the merchant does. That’s why he’s willing to sell everything he has, to buy that ONE pearl!

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like that, Jesus said

But, what exactly is the Kingdom of Heaven ?

Is it a place high up in the skies, or can we find it on earth? Well, it is the home of the Lord, but we can also find it here today.

A Kingdom means a state having a King as its head. A Kingdom consists of a King & people. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the King. Right now, He is the King of Heaven. Soon, He will return as King of both Heaven & Earth.

If Jesus is the King, then we Christians are the people or citizens of this Kingdom. Where do we find this Kingdom? The answer is simple – CHURCH.

Those of us who truly believe Jesus are like the man who found the treasure hidden in the field, and the merchant who found the fine pearl.

We have found the true treasure, the most valuable thing in life: JESUS CHRIST.

That’s why we love the Kingdom of Heaven . We give up other ‘pleasures’ to make Jesus our priority. When the world thinks Church & the Bible is boring, or that we are stupid – we don’t care! We still love to come to church & study the Bible!

Even if we are so busy with daily life & work, we make God our priority. We make sure we cancel all our other plans to attend Church & study the Bible. We would rather spend time with God, than drink & dance in pubs & clubs, or talk rubbish with friends.

The Church is one place where we unite as a Kingdom, & worship Christ, our King.

The Church is NOT a building with statues, or where people dress with fine robes.

Each one of us IS already the church. The Bible says our body is the Temple & Christ lives inside of us. When we come together in a house, open air by the beach, in a village, inside the jungle or in a building, to worship the Lord & study the Bible - we are uniting as the Kingdom of Heaven . We just enjoy worshipping our King & studying His Word.

Why? Because we have found the treasure!

Those who don’t know Christ are like the original owners of the field & fine pearl. They didn’t know its true value! That’s why they willingly sold it for money. If only they knew its true worth, they would have never let it go.

But we know its true value. That’s why we are willing to give up EVERYTHING to get that ONE treasure!

Eric Liddell, the Olympics gold medalist of his time, willingly gave up his career as a world-class sportsman to become a pastor (a missionary to China )! The world will think he lost his valuable career – but Eric knew he found his true treasure!

The earthly mindset tells you that your career, money & sex are the most important things in life. You must enjoy whatever you can, because life ends once you die. You must achieve greatness for yourself.

Health, money, our iPad, our family, our career etc. are very important in our daily life. It’s true – we cannot survive without these in the world today. We need these. But at the end of the day, we know that we have found the Kingdom of Heaven – our most valuable treasure!