The Pursuit of Happiness Daily Devotional -26
by David Joynt on January 28, 2021
PHILIPPIANS 3:7-9 | 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.
MATTHEW 13:44-46 | 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus’ parables do more than reorder earthly values. He taught that His kingdom supersedes them. The farmer finds a treasure in a field he has been hired to plow (a common circumstance in war ravaged areas where there were no banks.) He sells everything to acquire the field and the treasure. He acts “with joy” and not as one who is under a difficult obligation. So does the merchant who finds the pearl of great value. These two figures rejoice in selling out because they’ve found something whose value far exceeds all that they possess.
Paul does not view the loss of his status as a Pharisee, or the loss of his former Jewish friends, as a sacrifice, because his life in Christ far surpasses all other things in value. His rightness with God is a gift, active and real because of his faith in Jesus. Jesus for him is the pearl and the treasure.
Do you find seeming sacrifices light or heavy?
Is Jesus your Treasure and your Pearl?
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