Originally published Friday, 15 May 2015.
I dashed through the aisles with a box tucked under my arm, looking for a good hiding spot. Meandering through the fishing gear aisle, I eyed an opening between the inflatable mattress boxes. Perfect, I thought to myself, as I stashed my loot. My husband, Flaviu, was on the other side of Walmart with another item, doing the same thing.
It was our first and last Black Friday shopping experience. We had been lured in by the $4.99 waffle maker and the $8.99 Pyrex glass container set. But we weren’t expecting the checkout line to loop around the perimeter of the store. Craziness! So we did what any other sane couple would do: we hid our loot, came back a few hours later, made our purchase, and left the store with grins you couldn’t wipe off our faces if you tried. It was a frugal shopper’s dream come true.
While some of you may be crying out “Foul!” right now, let me assure you that we took our play straight from the Bible (albeit out of context, but still):
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.
~Matthew 13:44
Our loot didn’t cost us all we had. In fact, it was quite a bargain. But it makes me wonder what that man must have felt when his donkey-pulled plow thudded into the treasure box. I imagine how his adrenaline must have rushed as he ran his hands through the coins, not believing his eyes, then quickly closed the lid, put it back and ran to buy the field.
This man didn’t dilly-dally back to town. No, he RAN. He sold EVERYTHING he had. Every last thing. His neighbors and siblings probably thought he was crazy, but his excitement over the hidden treasure just couldn’t be contained. He wanted that treasure and did all he could to get it.
And that, Jesus says, is the passion and excitement a person feels when they discover the kingdom of God. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined . . . God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The best is yet to come, my friends. Are we living in eager expectation and grabbing hold of that reality in our lives right now?
Are you excited about the coming Kingdom of God? We’d be astounded if we saw what’s waiting for us…
But here’s the real clincher: what’s amazing about our future isn’t just that we get to enjoy amazing blessings in heaven, it’s that we’ll get unobstructed access to God Himself, fellowshipping with Him forever. And we get a taste of that here and now whenever we spend time in intimate communion with Him!
Blessed assurance Jesus is mine
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is our present reality, friends. This is our story every day. We found the best treasure in the universe; it’s hidden, and now we sell everything we have, we turn our backs on everything the world offers us for the joy set before us. We are satisfied in Him.
We say “no” to mindless shows and spend time in the Word instead; we sacrifice an hour of extra sleep and seek His presence instead; we chuck the romance novel and speak love-filled words to Him instead. And we do it joyfully, knowing that what we’re giving up is nothing compared to the treasure that we’re gaining, both now and in the world to come.
God’s kingdom is better than Black Friday loot by about a bazillion! And God wants US to have it!
Because friends, finding the Kingdom is like getting the best Black Friday steal of the century… multiplied by about a bazillion. And God invites us to snatch it up.
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