Discipleship Devotional, April 22nd, 2025
“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.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV)
In the parable above, the Lord Jesus describes how valuable the kingdom of heaven is, and how priceless it is for us to be saved and belong to God. He likens it to a situation where someone finds great treasure hidden in a field.
In our day, particularly in Nigeria, a good example is when someone buys a piece of land and later discovers there’s crude oil beneath it. That discovery drastically increases the land’s significance, even though, by law, the government owns the mineral rights. Still, the landowner can receive valuable compensation and benefits. The point is—what was once seen as ordinary suddenly becomes extremely valuable.
Now think about it—if you somehow knew in advance that this land held such hidden riches, but the seller didn’t, you would gladly sell everything you had to buy it. Why? Because you understand the value, and you’re confident that the benefits would far outweigh the sacrifice.
This is what the parable is trying to tell us about salvation and the kingdom of God. When a person finds this precious treasure of God’s kingdom, nothing else is more valuable. Nothing else can be held on to instead of this. When we know the value of a relationship with God, it does not matter what we lose—we will know we have gained. Be it money, lands, houses, jobs, contracts, etc.
When we understand the immense value of the kingdom, we won’t even be afraid to forego things that try to threaten our faith. If a job wants you to join a cult to be promoted, you will be willing to forgo the job. If they say the only way you can win as a politician is to join their cult, you would rather run with God and lose than lose God to win that position. This goes the same for everything that tries to contend for the place of God. If, as a Christian lady, your boss says you must sleep with him or lose your job, you won’t even be afraid. You would rather lose that job and retain your faith than compromise and be promoted.
The most interesting thing about this is that you will not see it as a sacrifice (even though it is a sacrifice before God and God will reward it). Rather, you will see it as wisdom. Just as it was wisdom to sell all possessions to purchase the field, it will be wisdom to forego anything for God. Because clearly, God is much more valuable.
Today, the Word of God encourages us to recognize the unmatched value of the kingdom. May we never forget its worth. Amen.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, help me to value the relationship I have with the Father. Help me to see it as much more valuable than anything. Amen.
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