[279 words]
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).
Few things are as effective in opening up our billfolds or motivating us to pick up our car keys as a good old-fashioned sale. When we hear about those bargains and see great values, it is hard to pass up the opportunity.
When we come to understand the priceless value of Christianity – when we get a glimpse of the unfathomable riches of God’s matchless grace – we must fully-invest in this chance of a lifetime.
God makes no high-pressured sales pitch. He includes no hidden charges in the fine print of the sales contract. He offers eternal life to all who will accept His Son in obedient faith. It is a gift of grace brought on by an act of love. There is nothing we could ever do to deserve it. There is nothing we could do to purchase it. We accept God’s gift by faith and manifest our appreciation for it through a life of faithful devotion and unselfish service (Ephesians 2:8-9).
How valuable is your hope of heaven? Can it hold its own next to the pleasures Satan is promising you in the world? Do you love Jesus more than anything or anyone else in the world? Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Just how much is Jesus worth to you?
Glen Elliott
Greenbrier church of Christ
Greenbrier, AR