How Much is the Kingdom Worth?

"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"

-Matthew 13:44

This past Sunday our church looked at Philippians 1:21-30, where we were challenged by the longing of the apostle Paul to be faithful no matter the cost. Here his famous words, "For to me to live us Christ and to die is gain", seem provide an illustration of a heart going for broke in the cause of Christ. What leads a person to say something like this? I mean Paul ended vs. 20 expressing a desire from Jesus to be exalted through his life whether he lives to a ripe old age or dies a martyrs death. He picks up in vs. 27 inviting the church to likewise be faithful; "striving together for the sake of the gospel". So why take the time to say what he says here? 

I believe when we look at the life and letters of Paul we get the chance to see the heart and mind of a man that truly understood the life-changing gift of salvation in Christ and the priceless worth of kingdom of God. To Paul, the seeking of the kingdom was life, it was what he worked for every day. This is always a convicting thing to consider because we as the reader are always confronted with the value Paul sees in the Lord and are left asking ourselves, "how much is knowing Him and seeking His kingdom worth to me?"

In Matthew 13 Jesus goes out to sit by the Sea of Galilee, but is soon surrounded by a crowd of folks wanting to hear His teaching. Rather than speak to them like one of the local rabis from the temple, Jesus teaches on the kingdom of heaven through seven parables. In this, He spends a good deal of time speaking on the judgement, but right in the middle of it all, He teaches on the value of the kingdom and ultimately the amount of worth that we should place on it as the people of God.

What would you be willing to give for the sake of the kingdom? Your car? Your house? Your career? Your skills and resources? For some folks, to ask for these things would be more than a big ask, they would be non-negotiables. But what if we turned the tables? What if I told you that there was 50 acres of land for sale up the road for $750,000.00 that could be yours if you just secured the 15% down payment of $112,000.00. For most folks the would be laughable proposition, impossible to consider. But what if I was able to provide verifiable proof that on that land was one of the biggest untapped oil supplies in the state with a value that was beyond estimation, would that in any way change our thinking? 

What is the difference maker in that situation? The difference was the value of the land when compared to everything else we had. I believe this is the kind of value that we are called to place on the kingdom. For people like Paul, the kingdom was worth everything and we see the evidence of that in his words and through his actions. For Paul there was no cost or sacrifice that was too great. But I wonder what kind of value we place on the kingdom of God. Have we realized the priceless nature of what we have been offered in Him, or do we still cling to what little we have in this life? I believe Jesus and Paul are offering us an invitation into something great. It will not always be easy, in fact it will ultimately require complete surrender on our end, but the value we find in Him is worth it all.

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord"

-Philippians 3:8a

What is this all about?

 

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." -1 Corinthians 9:24

    As we start a new year I wanted to start a new habit of doing a little writing from time to time. I think it is interesting how a new calendar can serve up a fresh helping of motivation to make changes and take on new challenges.  Many folks woke up this morning with plans for new diet plans, new exercise programs, new incentives to organize that back room, and perhaps renewed desire for growth in our walk with the Lord. 

    In starting these posts, my hope is that this could become a place of encouragement as we work to grow together. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul likens the Christian life to a race and challenges the church to run, but not to just run in any kind of way, he encourages us to run in order to win the prize. I think this emphasis is important to notice. There is a difference between a casual jog and running to win.     

    Tonight I went out and ran with each of my kids and when I ran with each of them, I ran in a way that matched their current level of fitness. At some points we ran faster than others, but in the end the goal was to have fun and work to improve our endurance. This is different from the times I try to run a personal best or put a leash on my dog and hang on for dear life, or when I go out to a local community race and see how I stack up against the fastest folks in the area. This is the difference between running for fun and running to get the prize. 

    As we we look at our hopes for 2026, I realize that many of us do so realizing that many of the goals we make will face difficult moments and could potentially end in failure. I think most folks have been there; in fact, I read an article from Pew Research that only about 9% of people are actually successful in keeping their New Year's goals and that most are done by mid-January. But all of this being true, I think the directive we have from scripture still remains. The words of Paul still read the same; we are instructed to "run in such a way as to get the prize."

    So as we talk about running to win, these are the kinds of things I believe we have to keep in mind. This year will hopefully be full of times where we find success, complete items on our task list, and enjoy moments of happiness with those we care about. But I also know that this moment with bring with it the low moments as well and the temptation in those moments will be to just quit. My hope, however, is that we would persevere, remembering that life is about more than checking off a few goals on a list... it is about running the race that God has set in front of us. We will fall and we will fail at time, but we must get up and keep running.