Jesus said to the crowds, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”- St. Matthew 13:44-46
Frequently Christ would start a statement by saying, “The Kingdom of heaven is like…” and we hear Him saying exactly that in this brief portion of St. Matthew’s Gospel: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field…” “The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls…”
The Kingdom is a constant in the teaching of our Lord. From His words we know it is the doing of God’s Will. It is the triumph of God’s divine Will in all things. It is that state of being in which God truly reigns.
As we hear Christ’s words, it is evident that God’s Kingdom is not like any earthly kingdom. Rather, it is mystical. It is spiritual. And it is far more important than any of the kingdoms or governments of this world.
Our Lord’s words show us that God’s Kingdom, rather than being something optional for us, is really something essential to our very existence as children of God. It is the thing which is to be desired and sought above anything else, and Christ gives us a couple of brief examples to lay out for us the priority of the Kingdom of heaven; namely, the man who finds the treasure in the field, and the merchant who discovers a rare pearl.
They each sold all they had so they could purchase what they had found. Both examples contain the same feeling of happiness at the discovery, and the need to take immediate action to claim what was found, and the preference for one thing above everything else. The man who found the treasure and the merchant are both surprised by their discoveries, and everything else seems unimportant in comparison. So they liquidate what they have accumulated up to that point, sacrificing every other possession, and they use every means they can to make this exclusive investment. Their actions mean that there is no turning back later. If the venture should fail, they would have nothing. The risk they take is total.
That is what it is like to seek the Kingdom, Jesus tells us. And when we find it, it is all we could ever want. In comparison to God’s kingdom, everything else loses its value. So one of the tests for us, in the light of Christ’s words, is this: if we are holding on to anything else as being more important than living in God’s presence, and in the desire to please God and to obey Him in everything, then we are not really seeking the Kingdom of heaven.
Finding God’s kingdom means sacrifice, because we cannot possess anything else if we want to possess the Kingdom of God. It is a kingdom which is all-embracing and completely absorbing. Possession of the Kingdom, and service to God in His kingdom, allows for no turning back, no seeing other things as being more important than our relationship with God.
And this also is true: to choose God’s kingdom is to find real contentment, real happiness. We might think that if finding the kingdom of heaven is that demanding, making us exclude everything else, it would be something difficult. But once we are on the path to God’s kingdom, it is something we want more than anything else.
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Painting: “The Pearl of Great Price”
by Domenico Fetti (1588-1623)