The kingdom of heaven 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 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. Matthew 13:44-46
Treasure is the key word in understanding the heart which drives the Kingdom. To every disciple of Jesus in the 1st century the Kingdom was exactly that – a treasure. It was worth more than silver or gold. It took precedence over everything else. All our lives, we looked for something worth pouring ourselves into. For those of us who are a part of God’s Kingdom we know that we’ve found that treasure and just like our 1st century brothers and sisters we understand the sacrifice of our time and money wins lost souls and strengthens weak ones in the Kingdom.
Jesus held his disciples to the highest of standards – everything. With him it was all or nothing. To the rich man in Mark 10:21 his charge was “Go, sell everything.” To the crowds of potential followers in Luke 14:33 he drew his line saying, “ ..any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Jesus expected his followers to be “Sold Out” by being willing to literally sell everything to follow him and win the world for his cause. We must be careful to not allow even a hint of greed (Ephesians 5:3) to creep into our lives and take our unwillingness to serve Jesus and his Kingdom with the Sold Out heart he demands.
Proof of Jesus’ intentions with these rigorous commands is found in the response of his disciples! They became Sold Out and gave up their own personal time to be devoted to the Apostles teachings, to be devoted to individual and group prayer, and to be devoted to one another. Their equal devotion to giving up everything gave them everything in common, making them completely unified! Because of their unity, the Lord added to their number daily, until they won the world in their generation. Selling out to Jesus makes us powerful, effective, and gives us that same unity. Certainly we must commit ourselves to the same course if we are to win the world in our generation!
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