Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 12, 2021
But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:24 (NIV)
One of the shortest parables Jesus gave is found in Matthew 13:44. “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.” (NIV). Let us contemplate the lesson God intended for us in this story.
In ancient times, it was common for people who owned treasure to bury it, to keep off thieves. At the right time, one would retrieve the treasure and sell it at a profit or keep it for adornment or other purposes. Unfortunately, due to forgetfulness, death or unforeseen occurrences such as war, some treasures would get lost.
The lucky man in the Master’s parable came across such a treasure one day. He thought fast and wisely. He knew the treasure was of massive value. The only way to own the fortune was to acquire the land on which he had been working. He was not a rich man. To raise money, he would have to sell his property, everything he owned.
The value the man attached to the treasure is likened to our attitude towards the kingdom of God. Finding God should be the most important discovery of your life. So significant is the worth of knowing God that you should consider all other achievements and gains of little importance.
Paul, once he had understood the immense worth of having a loving relationship with Christ, had this to say; “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8, NLT).
Through Prophet Jeremiah, God stipulates that the only reason human beings should boast is for having a living and active relationship with God. All else is vanity if God does not come first in our lives.
How valuable is God’s kingdom to you? How much are you willing to sacrifice to ‘own’ this treasure? Are there relationships, pleasures, habits and attitudes you need to ‘sell’ today in your quest for the kingdom of God? Do you have a reason to boast, within the context of the Bible? Let nothing or nobody come between you and your relationship with God.
Prayer
Father, teach me to seek your kingdom first because when my story is finally told, nothing else will matter. Amen.
A human being, on understanding his weakness and helplessness without God, cannot boast, but in aligning himself on, and depending on God. Pease leave your comment after reading this devotional.