Have you ever noticed how you occupy your time with things that are of great value to you?
Maybe you are a fan of a sports team. You know the players. You watch the draft and the games. You get emotional about the wins and the losses. Much of your free time is invested in that interest.
Maybe your focus is on social media. You are active on multiple platforms. Your phone is an extension of your hand and you post the details of your life so that others can live them with you. You follow others in the same way, reacting to their posts and participating in their lives.
Maybe you are in a relationship that is the real thing. You spend hours together, and hours on the phone when you aren’t together. Hardly an hour goes by when you have not thought about that person. They are the center of your attention. You plan your day around being with them.
None of these things, or anything else we value, are wrong in and of themselves, but what value do you place on the Kingdom of God? How much of your being is focused on following Jesus? How does this balance out for you?
Jesus told a story about the value of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:45-46). A man, while walking through a field one day, finds a pearl of a size and value he has never seen before. He immediately finds out who owns the field, goes to them and asks to buy it. The price is high. He sells everything he has to make the deal because he knows that it is nothing compared to the value of that pearl.
Jesus says that is the value of the Kingdom, and then he backed up those words with his actions. He came to establish the Kingdom. He died to make a way for us into the Kingdom. He rose to make us heirs with him to the Kingdom. It is our Kingdom. We are seated at the right hand of God in Christ.
How would thinking about this during the day change how you live? How would it affect your attitude, your thoughts, and your conversation? How would it affect how you use your resources – your time and your money?
These decisions are for you to make, not us, but we all need to consider our lives in light of the Kingdom and its value. What are you willing to sacrifice for a pearl of that kind of value?