Kingdom of Sand

In Matthew 13, Jesus gives us parables about the kingdom of heaven. He says that the kingdom of heaven can be compared to treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. In both cases the person who finds these valuable objects quickly goes and sells all that they have to purchase their new discoveries. I believe the point that Jesus is trying to make here is that any material possessions we own or anything that we consider “ours” is of less value than the kingdom of heaven. It is evident from the parable that guy in the field and the merchant are so blown away by their finds that they quickly go and sell all that they have. They would only do this quickly if it was a no brainer. It is obvious to them that what they currently own doesn’t compare with the new treasure.

In much the same way our former lives should be sold for our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. I’m not a mathematician, but I realize that my 80 years (if I’m lucky) on a corrupted planet Earth can’t begin to compare with an eternity in a perfect world. So if I know that the kingdom of heaven is going to be so much greater than anything I can imagine in this current life, why do I still cling to dumb things like TiVo or new jeans?

It’s been granted to me to find the treasure of the kingdom of heaven, but I choose to keep it buried. It is always seems like it’s in a land far, far away. I forget to look deeper, beneath the surface. It’s trapped beneath things of far lesser value like checking accounts, mortgage, car payments, job, softball, and great TV shows (like Lost and Heroes). Sometimes it’s even hard to see it beneath so called "good things" like my dreams, my goals, my desires to see my family taken care of and the like. If the kingdom of heaven was a treasure chest all of these things would just be the sand. Sand is worthless, but there always seems to be tons of it and it can for sure hide something.

The kingdom of heaven means an eternity with a holy, perfectly loving, perfectly just, creatively creative creator God who sacrificed himself to give this kingdom to a band of rebels. It means a restored world with no more pain, sickness, suffering or sin. It is a kingdom that is never ending in wonder and delight. It is truly a treasure beyond value. So why is it that I have trouble leaving my kingdom of sand?