“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44).
Bigger than how you behave is what you believe. What you believe about your career, where you go to church, and how you raise your kids is foundational to how you behave in those areas. Believing comes before behavior.
What you believe about politics, other people, and whether big trucks should take up two parking spaces is foundational to how you behave in those areas. Believing comes before behavior.
All of this is in Jesus’ parable as “all he had.” Big stuff, but the man does not believe it’s the biggest. He sold it so that he could buy the field containing his new, true treasure, real riches, the bigger and better thing. His belief that he found the most valuable thing shaped all of his other behaviors.
So what’s your most valuable thing? Your most important thing? Our earthly treasures deceptively maneuver for that position all the time. Not because they’re more valuable, but because we believe they’re more valuable.
We believe that our phones, financial status or what friends (or foes) think about us have more for us than Jesus. And that belief shapes our behavior. On our own, we remain earthbound sinners satisfied with shiny things that the devil uses to lure us into his trap of godlessness like a glimmering fishing lure catches a fish and it’ll never swim freely again. Don’t take the bait. Don’t get caught.
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). See your buried treasure? The storyteller, telling the parable of the hidden treasure, is himself the hidden treasure, the buried treasure. Jesus Christ died for your sins of making him less important than he makes you, and making other things more important than he makes them.
He makes you “of first importance” in his life. He helps you first, loves you first, takes care of you first, thinks of you first. So, make him “of first importance” in your life. Want some help taking steps on your spiritual journey to do that?
Here’s my story—on video—of a recent walk in my neighborhood, and some sidewalk chalk messages that helped me understand the life-changing, life-giving power of Jesus’ promises.
PRAYER: Jesus, how can I be first to you, when it seems like so many others are in line ahead of me receiving blessings that I don’t? And, it feels a bit selfish, too. And I don’t deserve it. Oh, Lord, send your Spirit to convince me of your clear promise of grace, that I am first to you. Amen.
SPIRITUAL NEXT STEP: Read this short story about Maggie Kunzia, a first grader who reads to seniors. Explain how this positive story is more about life-giving belief than life-changing behaviors.