Easter: The Gift We Didn't EarnSample

Day 5: Treasure

Jesus was a master storyteller. The people loved his stories, called parables, because they connected everyday life to spiritual truths.

Nestled among a string of parables in Matthew 13 is an interesting little verse:

"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, he sold all he had and bought that field."

The parable is about exchanging things of lesser value for things of greater value.

Suppose you found a rare trading card on sale for a few hundred dollars when it's worth thousands. Because that card is worth so much, you would sell all of the common cards you own to buy it. This is what the man in the parable did. He sold everything for that field. This parable is about the passionate pursuit of what matters most.

This story says what matters most is the kingdom of heaven. But what does that mean?

The kingdom of heaven is wherever God's presence remains, and it is characterized by eternal life. But look at how Jesus defines eternal life in John 17:

"Now this is eternal life: they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

Eternal life does include the afterlife, but that is just a byproduct of the abundant life we experience when we get to know God through Jesus. What joy and what comfort we have knowing that, because of the Easter story, we can know God now. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, you don't have to wait until you die to have eternal life. You don't have to be in heaven to experience the kingdom. God's presence can dwell with you now if you choose to know Jesus.

What do we lose in order to gain eternal life? We can let go of chasing the things the world offers in an attempt to find that life. We recognize that things like money, success, relationships, or self-gratification can never satisfy the longing in our souls. We admit that nothing and no one makes our lives make sense as Jesus does.

Death comes before resurrection. Through Jesus, we find the life we never could have created for ourselves. That is the heart of the Easter story.

Next Step:

Watch this video, Treasure, and think about the questions below.

1. When have you given up something lesser so that you can attain something more significant in your own life? How did that choice impact future decisions?
2. Take a close look at your life. Where do you feel God calling you into greater grace and freedom? What areas can you trade in, or sell, so that you can find fullness of life in Jesus?

Congratulations on making it to the end of this Plan. Enjoy this content? There's more wonder where that came from. Check out Wonderhunt.co for our full library of films and resources, or subscribe to Wonderhunt in the Bible App.