Sep 28, 20222 min read

The Field

Day3

Word study

Sacrifice

The Man In The Field’s Story

Before you answer, here’s another vignette: a parable told by Jesus. It consists of only one verse.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Matthew 13:44

Picture it. A man is walking through a field with his walking stick, and suddenly as the stick touches down he hears a hollow thud. He backs up, taps, and again he hears the thud. He gets down on his knees, digs down and pulls up a wooden box. When he opens it he finds a treasure trove. What would he do? Again, what are the risks? What are the rewards? The risk was that the field would cost him all that he had. So he had to hurry to work the transaction, but the reward would be that he would become wildly wealthy. He assessed the situation and made a decision. He sold his entire estate to purchase the field.

What did John do? John called his wife, and together they agreed that the purchase was worth the risk in view of the reward. So they bought the house and the coins turned out to be worth approximately ten million dollars.

What about Sheila? I mean, she would have to part with her beloved Jetta as well as the art work she had collected over the years. But if that so-called reproduction was in fact a priceless original, it would all be worth it. Her training and experience told her it was, so she did it, and paid the $25 grand. She later discovered that the painting was not worth the $25,000 she paid. Instead it was worth $30 million.

Why am I sharing these stories? Because in the scripture we read together earlier, Paul made an appeal to his fellow Christ-followers in Rome that runs parallel to each of these vignettes. He is asking them to give up something in exchange for something worth infinitely more.

Action Step:

What are you willing to give?

The Field

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