Great Value

I don’t know too many people who do not like great value. Nobody wants to pay full price for something if they don’t have to. We all want the best bang for our buck. We will drive a little out of our way for a better gas price, look for the best prices on groceries, and even go to different stores to find the best deal on items. In the days we live in, you just about have to do those things. In truth, we are born to look for the greatest value. This desire for great value is what brings us into a relationship with Jesus. You may ask, “How is that?” Jesus explains in Matthew 13 in two different parables.

The first parable is just one verse, verse 44, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” The second parable is in verses 45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” There is one glaring truth to each of these parables: that anybody in their right mind will give up something of lesser value to gain something of greater value. It just makes sense to do so.

The Lord uses these parables to bring salvation into simplicity. What we have now is what the Bible calls rubbish. All the things the world has to offer are here today and gone tomorrow. The car that we work so hard to buy will soon find its way into a junk yard. The house that we invest so much time and money in will someday belong to someone else. The stuff that the devil offers in exchange for our souls has only temporary value. But what the Lord offers has eternal value.

We will buy a home as soon as we can instead of renting, so that our money will be invested in something that will bring back dividends later. But sadly, so many people invest in the things that only bring ruin to their lives and never even think of considering the greatest value man has been offered.  Christ came to free us all from sin and death, and all we have to do is die to ourselves and choose to live for Jesus. The Lord is very clear that we cannot serve two masters. We either serve the Lord God, or we serve the devil. In these parables, the men were searching for something, something of the greatest value. When they finally found it, they gave up everything to obtain it. This is the call of salvation. The Lord tells us to give up our old, sinful ways and give ourselves to Him so that we may inherit eternal life. You tell me which has the greater value: the things that are here today and gone tomorrow, or the one that will never perish? I made my choice a long time ago, and I pray that you have too, or will soon do the same.