7/20/08 - Pentecost 10 - Matthew 13:44-46

THE KINGDOM IS PRICELESS
- It is worth everything
- It is worth keeping

“The kingdom of heaven is like…” “The kingdom of heaven is like…” “The kingdom of heaven is like…” We hear these words from the mouth of Jesus three times in our Scripture lesson today. And that’s no surprise since the thirteenth chapter of the book of Matthew is the “Kingdom Chapter” after all. Jesus refers to the “kingdom” 12 times in this portion of Scripture, and so it would be wise for us to understand exactly what the kingdom of heaven is. Because it’s more than just the physical location of heaven. Sometimes the “kingdom of heaven” has to do with the place of Paradise, but many times it does not. The kingdom of heaven cannot mean heaven itself in these two parables in front of us this morning. So what does “the kingdom of heaven” mean? Well, a kingdom is the area over which a king carries out his ruling activity. And Christ, our King, does not only rule in heaven, he also rules on earth, and he rules in our hearts. And Christ carries out his ruling activity in our hearts through faith in his gospel. That is what the kingdom of heaven means in many of Jesus’ parables and that is what we have here in verses 44-46. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven [God ruling in our hearts through faith in the gospel] is like 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 and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven [God ruling in our hearts through faith in the gospel] is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Do you understand what the Lord is saying about the kingdom of heaven here? It is important to remember that parables usually have one main point of comparison. And so beyond the simple analogy, the details of the story don’t necessarily match up with a spiritual truth. For example, if I said “He is as strong as an ox pulling two carts,” I wouldn’t mean that the person has hoofs for feet, has horns on his head, eats hay for lunch, and the two carts somehow represent two full-time jobs he is working at the same time. That would be ridiculous. My point would simply be that this person is strong just like an ox who can pull to carts is strong. In the same way, a parable has one main point. Sometimes other details can be matched up, but not always. And in the two short parables we just read, there is really just one main point. So what is it? What is the main point in comparing the kingdom of heaven to a man selling everything to buy a treasure in a field and to a man selling everything in order to buy a very valuable pearl? The point here is that the kingdom of heaven is worth everything. It is so valuable that it is worth giving up everything you have to obtain it. To put it another way: faith is priceless.
And I would hope that you as Christians know why the kingdom of heaven is priceless. God ruling in your hearts through faith in the gospel is so priceless because that is the most important and the only essential blessing that he has given you. A house is great. Friendships are wonderful. Vehicles, a church home, a steady job, good health, beautiful scenery, a sharp mind, a Christian spouse, a pleasant day are all wonderful blessings from the Lord. But out of all those things, only faith in the gospel will last. Only faith in the gospel will survive the grave. Only the gift of Christ ruling in your heart through faith in the gospel has anything to do with eternity. That’s why it is so priceless. That is why it is worth everything. Because the kingdom of heaven in your heart today will lead you to the kingdom of heaven on the Last Day. Faith in our Savior is a priceless gift. And so it should go without saying that we should treat it as such.
If you go to the Louvre in Paris, no one is allowed to touch the Mona Lisa. There are ropes around that famous piece of art and elaborate security systems are set up to protect it. If you were to visit Egypt, you would not be allowed to climb up and down the great Sphinx of Giza. Visitors are kept a safe distance away and there are constant restoration projects to keep it in the condition it is in. And as a child you knew better than to put your hands on your grandmother’s best china. It even had its own special cabinet and those doors were only ever opened for a careful dusting. Priceless things are treated like they are worth everything. People take the time and the effort to make sure that those things are not ruined and that they are kept in their best possible condition. This principle is almost universally true… except when it comes to our faith. The most precious blessing that we have, the most valuable gift we have ever been given isn’t treated as priceless at all. Instead we treat it as if it were an old pair of shoes that we throw into the corner. We don’t take care of our faith as we should. We don’t look after it as we should. We don’t tend to it and nurture it and respect it as we should. The kingdom of heaven that we have been given is priceless and it deserves to be treated that way. But it’s usually not worth our time and effort, is it?
Over this past vacation that my family and I took, I knew that taking care of my priceless gift of faith would be difficult. I brought my Bible along, I knew that I should read it like I do on any normal day, but I realized that it was going to be hard to do so. With the flying, the driving, the extra trips, the late nights, the family… How many times do you think I read my Bible in that two-week period? Once. I read my Bible for personal devotion time only once. How pitiful. How sad. It wasn’t worth the time. It wasn’t worth the effort. I guess I had “better” things to do than taking care of the most priceless gift I have ever been given. And my treasure in the field, my invaluable pearl of faith suffered for it. Because faith that has come through the gospel constantly needs the gospel to grow. Without a steady diet of the gospel faith is choked. It is sapped of strength and cannot survive. And it’s not only this past vacation that I have malnourished my faith - it has been happening my entire life. I pray that you treat your faith better than I treat mine. I hope that you consider your faith as priceless as it really is. But knowing the tendencies of the sinful heart and mind of all human beings, I would guess that you are in a very similar situation that I am in.
Is the kingdom of heaven worth more than the one hour a week you spend here? Is it worth more than a casual reading of Scripture to make yourself feel good for “doing your duty”? Is it worth more than a mindless prayer at mealtime or a devotion from the Meditations book that you get around to reading maybe once every two weeks? Your faith is worth much more than that. Your faith is worth everything. But we have hardly ever treated like that. But here’s the beauty of faith: no matter how worthlessly we have treated it over the years, it is still priceless.
A few years ago a man in Scotland bought a painting at a garage sale for five dollars. It turned out to be an original painting from a relatively famous artist. And so he turned around and sold that painting for over one million dollars. Even though that painting had been sitting in a house for years, neglected, unappreciated, ignored, it did not lose its worth. It was still a priceless piece of art no matter how it had been treated in the past. Our faith, the kingdom of heaven in our hearts, is still priceless no matter how we have treated it. It does not lose its worth, it does not lose its value, and it does not lose its power. Because remember: faith is the Lord ruling in our hearts. Our hearts are his kingdom. And so no matter how weak our faith may seem, no matter how we may have neglected it over the years, the faith that God has worked in our hearts is still powerful enough to save. And God makes sure that our faith clings to our Savior. Because God treats us as if we were priceless.
Doesn’t that blow your mind! Why would God do such a thing? Why would he treat us as priceless? I know I’m not priceless. I’m expendable. I’m disposable. This congregation, this world, and certainly the Lord himself would do just fine without a habitually sinner like me. And even though that is true, the Lord still treats me as priceless. He still treats you as priceless. He treats us as something special - like we are the best thing that has ever happened to him! And if that’s hard to believe, just take a look at what the Lord did for us. First of all, he built this world for us, to live in and work in and enjoy. And when we messed it up with our sins, he instantly forgave us, devised a plan, and sent his Son to fix the problem. But he not only sent his Son, he gave up his Son. He gave up his only Son, he handed him over to sin, death, and the devil so that we could be freed from those things. He carried out his full wrath on the Son he loved. And don’t imagine that it was easy for the Father to forsake his Son on the cross! It must have pained the Father in unimaginable ways to turn his back on Jesus as he suffered the pains of hell and the torments of sin’s consequences. No parent likes to see their child suffer. And to make your child suffer unexplainable pain for something he isn’t responsible for is unthinkable! But that’s exactly what the Father did. He willingly did all of that to his only Son because we are that precious to him. He cares about us that much. He loves us to that extreme. And he has now even made our hearts his kingdom so we believe everything he has done to his Son he has done for us.
Moses said something to the Israelites that I could just as well say to you, “You are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6). It is humbling to be considered so priceless by our glorious Lord. He cares for us and treats us so much - not only our spiritual, but all of our physical blessings as well - that it is almost to the point of embarrassment. We can’t pay him back, we don’t deserve it, and he still showers us with blessings every day! Use this knowledge of your Lord’s love to treat your faith in the same way that he treats you. Consider your faith priceless. Consider it your most prized possession, because that’s what it is. And the Lord, who loves you as his treasured possession and who is right now reigning in your heart, promises that the kingdom of heaven in your hearts right now will one day take you to the kingdom of heaven around his throne.
Amen.

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Tim. 1:17