Recently, I’ve been struck by the incredibly radical claims of Jesus. As I’ve been pondering this quote on the Renew website I’m also struck by two kingdom stories Jesus tells back-to-back in Matthew 13.
44 “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.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
In these stories I’ve always focused on Jesus’ emphasis on the hiddenness, the irony, the cost, the worth and the surprise of the kingdom (i.e. the rule and reign of God in the world). But recently I was struck with two similar phrases that I’ve skimmed over when I’ve read these verses before: “sold all he had” and “sold everything he had.”
What is Jesus saying here? He’s stating very clearly that the kingdom life is worthy of putting all of our eggs into one basket. This notion is complete contrary to what our culture says: keep your options open, diversify, be well-balanced, always have something to fall back on, don’t get too risky. Jesus’ approach to the kingdom is about being all in.
And so, the challenge remains: am I willing to be all in for the life of the kingdom?Not just in the big areas of my life, but also (maybe especially) in the little areas?
The shows we watch.
How we spend our time.
How we spend our weekends.
How we spend our money.
How we utilize the time in the car.
What job/career we choose.
Jesus’ invitation to Kingdom living is about putting all of our eggs in one basket. That’s about as counter-cultural as it gets.
DRB said...
1JR … This is really good! Thanks for that perspective of being “all in.” I believe I will use that in the future many times when teaching about money and commitment.
Keep ‘um coming!
06/16/09 9:06 PM | Comment Link
Coenraad said...
2JR, nice challenge to put out there. This, IMO is the way to get it all, and to really be in God’s will, even though I still haven’t found the courage to do this very thing…
06/16/09 11:51 PM | Comment Link
Jason said...
3I like how you describe the call to the kingdom as being all in. I have been struck recently on how the call of the Christian life is one of dependence not of freedom at least freedom as we classically see it in America. We are called to abandon all other agendas and live in dependent obedience on our faithful, creator, redeemer and provider. We are free to put our hope in the only one who can transform and save us. We are free to depend on him to make us new and to use us to fulfill our calling to love his world as he would.
06/17/09 12:37 PM | Comment Link
esther said...
4jr -
dave and i have been in the process of reorganizing our life in such a way that we are living more fully “all in”, as you would put it. initially we were just thinking about the big stuff (selling our house, relocating) but then, as we have had to be patient during this reorganization process, i began to feel the conviction that we needed to be faithful NOW to Gods call – even during this waiting period. And it came down to evaluating some of the things you listed there. Time, shows we watch, relationships, sabbath rests, etc. Unfortunately the big stuff is still being worked through but this time of waiting has proven to be so fruitful in teaching us that most days it will come down to the everyday faithfulness, that we so rarely take time to evaluate.
06/17/09 3:33 PM | Comment Link
admin said...
5Esther –
I love the fact that you and Dave are working hard to move towards kingdom alignment. Sometimes its the little things that are easiest to rationalize and hardest to realign into kingdom values.
Grace and peace to you both in the journey.
06/17/09 3:50 PM | Comment Link
DougG said...
6JR, I always liked the Mustard Seeds and Yeast at the end of Mt 13, along with “.. I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” … People are Important? (God’s commitment to each person in Jeremiah 5:1?) Grace? (Ezekiel’s growing River?) DougG
06/22/09 10:50 AM | Comment Link