The Parable of Great Price

Why does selling everything you own to buy one thing like giving it all up for the kingdom of heaven? seems more like an obsession to me...and that the pearl is being put before God...????... I don't know...i just don't get it. I looked up a different version last night and was only more confused.”—Brandi, Illinois

Ahh, yes, the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. Jesus was the Master Teacher and He often spoke in parables. Parables are stories from everyday life used to illustrate God's truth to us. When Jesus speaks of the pearl of great price, He speaks of its value. Pearls in the ancient world were considerably hard to find and worth a fortune. Allow me to quote the parable from Matthew 13 as well as the one before it,

44"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.

45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it."

When Jesus calls us to Himself, He calls us to die. We die to ourselves, our wants, our desires, and we die to our former way of life (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:22) . Jesus calls us to follow Him, to pick up His cross daily and follow Him. When He spoke these words to the apostles (the language about picking or carrying their cross), He had not yet died. It was a profound statement, because Jesus was drawing on the image of capital punishment. He was saying, in modern day usage, "Take up your electric chair and follow Me." Why? Because of who He is, what He has done and what this world is. The Bible says that this world is hostile to God (James 4:4). It desires what is contrary to God's Word.

When the man in the parable discovers the treasure in the field (v. 44), he has discovered something worth much more than all that he possesses. The treasure is the kingdom of heaven and all that he has is his former way of life. He gives up everything he has in order to get much more. When we come to Christ we give Him our life in order to have eternity. Allow me to illustrate. There is a story of a young boy who had his hand stuck in a jar. It was a blue jar and one couldn't see inside it. The adults around him tried everything that they could in order to get his hand out of the jar. They used water, butter, etc., but no matter what they did, the boy couldn't pull his hand out of the jar. Finally, one of the adults looked at the boy and said, "Here, do like I do, stretch out your hand like this and slowly slide your hand out." But the boy replied, "No, I can't, I will drop my penny if I do."

The point of the story is, many want to hold onto their former way of life (i.e. sins, desires, their own wants, etc.). But Jesus will have none of it. Jesus is infinitely greater than what this world has to offer. We give up everything in order get everything. Or as Jim Eliott, a martyred missionary of a bygone era once said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose." This world and it's desires are passing away and will pass away. Only what is done for Christ and in Christ is going to last.

So, this merchant that sold everything he had in order to get that pearl, so do we give everything in order to get everything. For we recognize who Christ is and what He has done. He is the Lord of all the universe and salvation is found in no other name except His (Acts 4:12). We give all in order to get all and nothing is worth more value then Him. He is worth more than my comfort, my wealth, my status, my dreams, family, etc. As I tell my wife, "Honey, you are number 2 in my life." And she readily understands and would want it no other way. Jesus Christ is my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my God. He is my all in all and when I came to Him as a dirty sinner, I gave Him everything. I gave my brokenness, my sin, my future, my relationships, everything.

Perhaps another illustration may help us here. Imagine for a moment, you and your husband were to purchase a home. What would you do when you moved in and the previous occupant had moved everything out of the house but one room. They kept one bedroom for themselves and put all of their junk and dirty stuff in it. Gross and unacceptable, right? The same is true of us spiritually. Christ has purchased our spiritual home (our very lives) on Calvary. He paid the price for our sins, but we must accept that payment by placing our faith in Him, or as the Scripture says that we, "Must be born again" (John 3:3). And when we do that, we become "new creations" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We give over the entirety of our house over to Him and let Him do with it as He sees fit. We are no longer our own, but His and submit and order our lives accordingly.

Great question, please keep them coming!!

Bitterness & Forgiveness

“I have a friend is really struggling with bitterness. She is extremely faithful, but recently she and her husband have been dealing with a lot of hurtfulness from others and are being pulled through the wringer publicly. She is praying for God to soften her heart and remove the bitterness; to try to find forgiveness and focus on the truth.”—Wendy B.

Bitterness is a killer of souls. Once it takes root in a person’s soul, it consumes them. Christ could have been bitter. He was misaligned and misunderstood. His apostles deserted Him and His family did not believe in Him. He was put into an unjust trial, a kangaroo court on trumped up charges that could not have been proven, but He persevered. As Hebrews 12 says,

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”—Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)

He considered the joy set before Him. God the Father offered fullness of joy at His right hand for Christ. He knew that His death would reconcile sinners to God.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”—Ephesians 4:30-32 (ESV)

Or,

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.”—Hebrews 12:14-16 (ESV)

Bitterness comes from unforgiveness. When others hurt or misalign us, we get angry, then we hold on to that anger, and it becomes bitterness. And in doing so, we are opening ourselves to Satanic influence in our lives.

Ephesians 4:25-27,

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”—Ephesians 4:25-27 (ESV)

The point here is that anger, or “letting the sun go down on our anger” is not letting it go. Letting it take root in our lives. We do not forgive the person for what they have done to us, we harbor it and nourish it. We feel we are entitled to it. We say, “They did it to me and I am justified in feeling this way.” Yes, one is justified in feeling pain. But, bitterness and unforgiving does nothing to the person who wronged them, it only keeps them in prison. Forgiveness, even in the most dire circumstances (think about what Christ Jesus has forgiven us from), is giving up one’s right at retribution. It is a giving it over to the Lord. “Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”—Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)

Horoscopes

For years I have had a friend who claims to be a Christian and who has read their horoscope daily, even putting on her Facebook page. Is that wrong to read your horoscope?

First of all, thanks for your question. I can tell that you care for your friend a lot. The short answer is, yes, it is wrong. As Christians, we are not to consult, mediums, spiritists, necromancers (those who attempt to contact the dead), Ouija boards, or anything else, but the Word of God and prayer. Leviticus 19:31 says,

"Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”—Leviticus 19:31 (ESV)

This passage was directed to the Israelites, but the same truth still applies today. The Bible is pretty clear that behind astrology and Ouija boards are demonic powers beyond our control. For a Christian or anyone else to listen or consult them is to put oneself in a place of demonic influence. We are to go to God and God alone, anything else is sin. Stars cannot give true and real guidance no more than mowed grass, the Word of God is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”—2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

God’s Word stands firm forever and will not change like the seasons. God can be trusted to give us the guidance at the moment we need it, not a moment sooner. We can consult pastors, family, members and friends, but no one carries the same amount of weight as the Word of God. Speak the truth in love to your friend by offering to show her the Scriptures about this, I assure you, in the long run she will be thankful you did.