Have You Found It?-Part 1

"'The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.’”- Matthew 13:44

I have been preaching and teaching this message on the parable above for the past month or so. It is a two part sermon focused on this parable and the parable of the pearl of great value.  It has been a fun, yet challenging, experience. This parable is a challenge for all who are seeking to understand the Kingdom, but also those who have already discovered it, or should I say, Him.

My son, Liam, has this blue blanket. It isn’t just any blue blanket; it’s a blue blanket that my friend’s mom made for him when he was born. He seriously loves this blue blanket. When he misplaces the blue blanket, he panics, but when he finds the blanket he embraces it with a huge hug and says something like, “Oh, blue blanket! I missed you! I love you blue blanket!” Then, he kisses it.

Yeah, you read that correctly, he kisses it. I thought my kid is a weirdy, but I found out that this is normal. It’s still weird, but normal.

It made me think about how I act when I find something I have been looking for. If I misplace my keys, I don’t get that excited when I find them. When I can’t find my car in a Wal-Mart parking lot, I don’t get that excited when I find it. I have even misplaced my bible, but when I found it, I didn’t hug it and kiss it. Actually, I thought, “Man, I’m glad I found it. These things are expensive.”

As I watch Liam with his blanket, I just wonder if I get this excited over the love I have received from Jesus or what I have discovered in the love of Jesus?

Let’s look at the first part of the parable.

This treasure hunter finds this amazing treasure that is so valuable he runs off to sell everything in order to purchase the entire field the treasure is in. There are three parts to this first section I want to dive into and describe how we can apply it to our lives:

1)The Kingdom of Heaven is like…: When Jesus first began to preach His first words were, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”.  He did not say, “The Kingdom of Heaven is on its way” or “The Kingdom of Heaven has come”, on the contrary, He said, “It’s near” or “at hand”. He was implying that He was and is the Kingdom. He is the One who is here to introduce what the Kingdom of Heaven is really like. He is the only way to experience the Kingdom of Heaven. He is near!

2) Ultimate Joy- The man who found the treasure, which is Jesus, left with unbelievable joy. In his joy, which he received through the treasure (Jesus), he ran to sell everything he had to purchase that field. The joy we receive from Christ should move us to give up everything for His call. It should move us to “die to ourselves” (Matthew 16:24). Our joy should overflow for the world to see because of what we have found. C.S. Lewis said, “Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again … I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.” (Letter to Mr. Ellis) Joy comes from knowing the Author of it all, Jesus.

3) Buying the Field- The man who found the treasure didn’t just buy the treasure, he bought the entire field. Why? The only logical answer is that The Kingdom of Heaven makes everything it is near valuable again. Everything Jesus has come into contact with has been restored and has been given great worth! The Kingdom of Heaven is near to all of us and has given creation its value back. Through our sin and brokenness we were disconnected from God. Through Christ, we have been restored and made whole. In the beginning, God saw man as “very good” (Genesis 1:31), but when the fall of man occurred, we lost it. Through the sacrifice and life of Christ, we have been given back our status of heirs to the throne of God.

When we discover the Kingdom, we discover Jesus. When we discover Jesus, we should experience unending joy. When we experience unending joy, we want to help with spreading the story of Jesus to help all of creation know they have been made valuable through the greatest treasure to ever be found.

May we see our value through the One great treasure, Jesus. May we find the joy He has given to us through His life, death, and resurrection. May we help to reveal the message of restoration to all of creation and see the value of it all.

Peace and blessings.

QUESTION: Have you found the treasure?