Who buried the treasure
in the field?

Our Creator Father possesses all things. And he owned the field where the treasure was buried. This means he was the one who buried it there. Now, he knew that the man digging in the field was poor. After all, rich men don't need to do manual labor. So, this field worker had to come to the owner and barter to buy the field.

We know we can't buy spiritual things with money. So, how is it possible to buy something from our blessed Father? Isaiah answers: "Come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). In other words, God is saying, "What's it worth to you? Don't think in terms of money, however. Talk to me in terms of goods and services."

Over the centuries, rich men have tried to gain eternal life by giving up their wealth. They forsook castles, lands, riches, vast herds, jewels and fine clothing, all in an effort to win Christ. They became paupers, eating meagerly and wearing animal skins. But Jesus was never found this way by anyone.

I believe Paul spent his months in Arabia bartering with the Father. I picture him asking, "Lord, how can I possess the full riches of Christ? What's it going to take?" The Father answers, "I'll tell you, Paul. Give me all your self-righteousness. Then I'll give you the righteousness of Christ. Give me all your good works, your strivings to please me. And I'll give you Christ's holiness by faith alone.

"Surrender to me all your goals, ambitions, plans, hopes. I'll give you Christ himself to live in you and through you. His desires will become yours. And you'll know joy and happiness that no accomplishment could ever give you.

"Give me the best of your time. Give me all your trust and confidence, all your concerns. Then you'll win Christ. You will have possessed his wisdom and intimacy, all without money. Tell me, Paul, is winning Christ worth all that to you?"

Paul did win Christ. He emerged from the desert in full possession of his treasure. Now he testified, "The old Paul is dead. And Christ is alive in me. All my ambitions are gone. Everything I wanted to do or be before, I've left behind in the desert. I've found my life's treasure, and he's all-sufficient for me. Jesus is all I will ever need."

You may ask, "Where's the hidden mystery in this parable of the treasure? What secret is buried there?" Paul gives us the answer: "The mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27).

In short, the mystery is Christ himself in you. The very treasure of heaven is living within you, possessed by you.


2. The second parable is about
the pearl of great price.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

Who is the merchant in this parable? The Greek root here explains him as a traveling wholesale trader. This merchant was also an assayer, or tester. In other words, he made his living by evaluating costly pearls for their quality and worth.

Now, we know Jesus is the pearl of great price that the merchant finds. He's very costly, of incalculable value, because the merchant sells all his other possessions to gain him. My question is, who was the original owner of this costly pearl? And why would he be willing to part with it?

I believe we find the meaning of the pearl in God's eternal purposes. Obviously, the pearl belonged to the Father. He possessed Christ just as any father possesses his own son. Indeed, Jesus is the Father's most valued and treasured possession.

Only one thing would cause the Father to give up this priceless pearl. He did it out of love. He and his Son had made a covenant before the creation of the world. And in that covenant, the Father agreed to part with his Son. He gave him up as a sacrifice, for the purpose of redeeming humankind.

The apostle Peter refers to the high price of this precious gift. He speaks of the costly blood of Christ, our pearl of great price. Yet, when the chief priests examined this pearl, they valued him at merely thirty pieces of silver. "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value" (Matthew 27:9). Think of it: the God of the universe had made his precious pearl available to all. Yet these men put little or no value on him. Some even called him a fake, an imitation.

I tell you, the Lord must grieve today to see how little value his people place on this priceless pearl. To some, Christ is no more than a museum piece. He's placed under glass, unavailable to be touched or handled. People visit him once a week to admire him or praise him. They gaze at his cross and marvel at his sacrifice, saying, "What beauty. How utterly glorious." But they never own the pearl. They don't barter with the owner, determined to possess it at any cost.

Beloved, God intends his pearl to be found by those who are obsessed with possessing him. It's as if he's saying, "My pearl is available only to those who place a great value on him."

Thus, the merchant in this parable represents a very small band of believers today. These servants have found in Jesus the answer to every need and cry of their hearts. He has become the central focus of their lives. They've set their hearts to go after this prize with everything in them. And they're going to lay hold of him, at any cost.

What did it cost the merchant
to obtain the pearl?

Remember, this pearl was priceless. It couldn't be bought with any amount of money. There simply wasn't enough gold or silver on the earth to match its worth. And the merchant knew this. He realized he could spend his whole life amassing wealth to obtain it, but his efforts would all be in vain.

I picture the merchant telling the owner, "Look, I've got to have that pearl. I'll gladly barter my entire lifetime of services to you. Whatever you ask of me, I'll do. Just let me possess it." The Father lovingly answered him, "Give me your heart. That's the cost." Next we read, "When he had found one pearl of great price, [he] went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:46).

This merchant sold his very soul for the pearl. It cost him his mind, body and spirit, "all that he had." Yet the owner told him he would gain this in return: "Yes, you'll be my bondservant. But you're going to be much more than that to me. You see, by giving me your heart, you're letting me adopt you. I'm about to make you part of my family. Then you'll be my heir. That means you'll own the pearl with me. It will be both mine and yours."

Let me tell you what these two
parables mean to me personally.

Christ is the treasure chest in the field. And in him, I've found all that I'll ever need. To me, that means the following:
No more trying to find purpose in ministry. No more looking for fulfillment in family or friends. No more needing to build something for God, or to be a success, or to feel useful. No more keeping up with the crowd, or trying to prove something. No more searching for ways to please people. No more trying to think or reason my way out of difficulties.

I've found what I'm looking for. My treasure, my pearl, is Christ. And all that the Owner asks of me is, "David, I love you. Let me adopt you. I've already signed the papers with my own Son's blood. You're now a joint heir with him of everything I possess."

I'm still in the process of selling everything I have. I'm still giving the Father my time, my thoughts, my will, my plans. Yet I know I'm exchanging it all for treasure. I'm trading it in to buy living water, the bread of life, the milk and honey of joy and peace. And I'm doing it all without money. The cost to me is my love, my trust, my faith in his Word.

What a bargain. I give up my filthy rags of self-reliance and good works. I lay aside my worn-out shoes of striving. I leave behind my sleepless nights on the streets of doubt and fear. And in return, I get adopted by a King.

Dear saint, this is what happens when you seek the pearl, the treasure, till you find him. Jesus offers you everything he is. He brings you joy, peace, purpose, holiness. And he becomes your everything: your waking, your sleeping, your morning, afternoon and evening.

So, what is he worth to you? To gain him, it may cost you more than you've been willing to pay. I urge you: start

__________________
Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece.
Filipenses 4:13.