For it is by grace you have been saved...

Monday, October 14, 2019

An Incomparable Treasure

Value is a strange thing, isn’t it?  What some consider a treasure, others throw out as trash.  What I throw out as trash may be sold for a hundred dollars to the right person at some antique store.  And often the value of things changes from time to time, depending on the collection market, and so on. You just never know. 

I started collecting comic books when I was about 9 or 10. By the time I was in high school, I had given that up for the most part.  But in that short time, I managed to compile quit a stack of books.  Some fairly rare.  For those “in the know,” I have the “transition” issues between what was called Journey Into Mystery with the Mighty Thor, and what became known as just The Mighty Thor.  An historical moment in Marvel history, and I love having that set from 1966.  But are they valuable?  Well, to the right collector they are worth quite a bit.  To me, they are nearly priceless.

As a kid, I picked up a few “new” titles, thinking that later the #1 issue of said title might be pretty valuable.  Recently, I heard that one such title was getting popular, and that some copies of that first issue were going for over $100.  So I took my copy to a comic store, along with the next dozen issues of that same title, and they guy offered my $30 for the whole stack.  So, what is the real value?  Depends on who you talk to.

People value what they have decided to place value on.  What’s it worth to you?  Why is this rock more valuable than that other rock, just because we call one a diamond?  It’s what we have decided to consider valuable.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a couple parables about finding something valuable and deciding it’s worth selling everything else to have.  His point is to let us know how we ought to be looking at the Kingdom of God.  Christ is to be seen as an incomparable treasure.  John Piper often uses phrases like “all sufficient” or “all satisfying” treasure.  The point is that Christ and His Kingdom should be seen as something worth giving away everything else to obtain.

Sadly, I don’t think many in the church today see Jesus and His Kingdom in that light.  We value things in this world more.  Our homes, our jobs, our entertainment, our families all are more valuable to us.  We might say they aren’t, but when it comes to what we give our time to, what we spend our energy on, what we can’t wait to talk with other people about, it becomes pretty clear what we really value.

Well, here is yesterday’s message about seeing Christ and His Kingdom as an incomparable treasure.  I pray God would open our eyes to the truth of it. 


What is the greatest treasure in your life?


No comments: