"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. again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. when he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had a bought it."
matthew 13:44-46
i love jeeps. if you know me at all you know that when i generalize "jeeps" i actually mean jeep wranglers. i mean, what is the point of the other models anyway? i have loved them for years. you can imagine my excitement then when i received a phone call from my dad, while away during my semester in kenya, informing me that we had an opportunity to buy a jeep wrangler from an employee where he works. this wasn't just any jeep. this was THE jeep that i had my eyes on all summer long while working the grounds. it was the 1995 jeep wrangler sahara that was always parked behind building 2 (pathways) of the christian health care center. with the support from my dad, it didn't take much thought from me to decide that i would love this to be my first car. sadly, i sold this jeep in 2006 in an attempt to save on gas money and avoid any potential upcoming problems it might have. i miss having a jeep. in fact, i envy every jeep driver on the road (it's a jeep thing, you wouldn't understand). i have decided that when i finish up my education and get a good job i am going to reward myself by purchasing a jeep - preferably a few years old, 4-door beauty.
i wouldn't consider myself to be an extremely materialistic person (maybe this is the problem, am i in denial?). really, i could go through life without all of the "things" that many people crave and desire. for me the jeep isn't so much a material item that i wish to have in order to show it off and feel cool. i simply love jeeps.
the problem, or the question, that this raises in light of these verses is this: do i have the same desire for Jesus as i do jeeps? on the surface, yes i value my faith and Jesus much more than any material thing. but do i go after God, with God being the goal and not the many ways in which he blesses me as the focus?
a common fault of many Christians (and of mine) is that "we love what Jesus does for us more than we love him." i am incredibly blessed. i have an amazing family, great friends, wealth (maybe not in comparison to many americans but compared to many in the world), wonderful education, church and the ability to worship without persecution, talents and spiritual gifts that allow me to volunteer as a high school youth group leader, opportunities to go on missions trips and travel various parts of the world, etc., i could go on and on. do i love Jesus or do i love what he does for me? if i didn't have any of these blessings, would i still love him?
when i am hurt, face struggles or hardships, lose something or someone that i value, my tendency is to question God and lose some of my faith. i would dare to say that i probably begin to love God less during those times. as we learned from yesterdays reading, when we are serious about following Jesus and treasuring our faith above everything else, we can count on two things: encouragement and testing. satan will tempt us. but do we always think about the ways that God may test us? God tested abraham, why wouldn't he test me? "he brings failure and pain into our lives, not to discourage us but to refine our desires and burn away the stuff that gets in our way."
Lord, we are bombarded with material distractions that give us a false and temporary satisfaction. along with my desire to follow you is my desire to treasure you above all else. help me to keep you as the goal, rather than what you would do for me.
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