Text- Matthew 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Ravi Zacharias once told the story of a boy who loved collecting marbles. The next door neighbors also had a little girl who had a lot of candy.
One day as they were playing, the girl said to the boy: “If you’ll give me all of your marbles, I’ll give you all of my candy.” He replied that he would think about it.
He thought about it that night, and on the following morning, he hid a few of the marbles in his room and offered the rest to the little girl for all her candy. He got home and was very happy about how ‘smart’ he was.
Funny enough, that night, he couldn't get to sleep. He tossed and he turned all night long because he was so troubled. Can you guess what troubled him so much he couldn't sleep? What troubled him was the thought: “Did she really give me all of her candy?”
That’s how it goes in your relationship with Christ. He is constantly calling you to be totally sold out for him. You see, you can’t want all of Christ and all He can give without first, giving all of yourself to him. If you try to ‘play smart’ like that little boy, it’s you who will lose out in the end.
See the story in Luke 9:57-62
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Basically, what Jesus kept emphasizing was this: “See, if you’re not going to give me everything, then don’t bother following me at all”. Truly, Jesus wants to give you a lot of ‘candies’ but he is interested in all your ‘marbles’, not just some…He wants it all.
For Jesus, it’s ALL OR NONE!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am completely sold out to you. I choose to be totally sold out to you Lord. I give it all to you Jesus, withholding nothing!
Image Credit: soldoutforgod.org