On Trading Everything to Gain Life-Changing Hidden Treasure
Manage episode 367578930 series 3449925
Jesus says that following him is like discovering priceless treasure hidden in a field. The finder would joyfully sell everything to buy it, as should we!
And so he speaks of living in the Kingdom of God, living with him as our High King and Lord, as a treasure, worth trading everything for. It's described as experiencing peace, joy, and operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As literally selling everything we have would take time, so too will adjusting our lives to living in Christ's invisible Kingdom.
It requires a slow, steady but definite adjustment of each area of our lives: relationships, what we read and watch, consumption and production of social media, travel, leisure, our spending and giving, time spent on food prep and exercise, on prayer and scripture, on reading and the news, on home and garden maintenance, on church activities and volunteering. Some of us will spend less time on these, others will spend more, for we each have a unique shape and calling.
Entering into the kingdom of God is a very individual pilgrim's progress; we each have a different starting point. Rick Warren of "The Purpose Driven Life" suggests that those seeking to change anything change their bodies first, by getting their exercise and diet under control... which is where I am starting!!
While following Christ is costly, for sure, it's costlier to follow what Tim Keller called Counterfeit Gods --“money, the seduction of success, the power and the glory,” climbing a cruel ladder which has no end, and never satisfies for long.
In a remarkable account, Bill Bright, founder of Cru, describes his surrender to God as abandoning his puny little plans for God's magnificent plans. Once done, he said the future seemed brighter than ever before... And it undoubtedly was! Jesus's promise that the things the unbelieving world chases will added to those who seek his Kingdom first came true in Bright’s life, as it will in ours as we pursue Christ.
My memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India UK USA
Blog: anitamathias.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anitamathiaswriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anita.mathias/
Twitter : anitamathias1
My book of essays: Wandering Between Two Worlds (US) and UK
Capíttulos
1. On Trading Everything to Gain Life-Changing Hidden Treasure (00:00:00)
2. Scripture meditation on Matthew 13:44 commences (00:07:10)
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