Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
If you read last week’s blog, you know I had an allergic reaction to the new immune-system booster I’m taking to fight cancer. I am glad to report that I had no allergic reaction this week at all!
The difference? They pretreated me with a mix of steroids and antihistamines before the treatment began.
I shared last week that the Holy Spirit works in much the same way to help our soul and body receive the things of God without reacting adversely to them! He gives us eyes to see the Pearl of greatest value that we would otherwise miss….
In the parable above, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is the most valuable reality in the universe, well worth our total commitment. We should be willing to part with any and everything for the pleasure and privilege of being a servant, friend, and co-heir with King Jesus.
The Kingdom of Heaven MUST come first—until we are Kingdom Beings. We cannot live in two kingdoms forever, and we cannot flitter between them whenever we desire to flit. King Jesus paid the ultimate price—treating us like we were a Pearl of great value—so that we could see with the Spirit’s help that HE and HIS KINGDOM are in fact the only PEARL worth our very lives!
But be warned: Because the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of this world (truly, just one fallen kingdom) are at war with the Kingdom of God, there WILL be adversity for those who sell out their interests in the fallen kingdoms, investing their all instead into the one eternal Kingdom—the Kingdom of God!
The allergic reactions one has with selling out to God completely are many and powerful—we need the Holy Spirit to help us see the only Pearl that truly matters. We need the Holy Spirit to help us decide that the temporary wealth and glamor and titles and reputations of this world of darkness aren’t worth a thing compared with the exceeding glory of knowing Jesus as King…!
My prayer for all of us is for Holy-Spirit enhanced sight to see that only one Pearl is great—and that He and His Kingdom are worth more than all the glory or acclaim or money or stuff we will ever have here in this fallen world!
I hope the Spirit helps us see that unless we are willing to relinquish all—NOW—on this side of eternity for the Pearl of great value, we will never see Him or His Kingdom in Eternity. The choice of Kingdom must come NOW—it’s not something we can choose after death. We cannot choose to reject the Pearl here and expect Him to welcome us into it at death!