BY GREG CRUM
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46
Here in Matthew’s Gospel, we read of a treasure in a field and of a pearl of great price—two investments worthy of selling all that one has to obtain. What did these two investments represent? The Kingdom of Heaven. Our takeaway? Our eternity with God is worth leveraging all we have in this life to obtain.
Does that sound radical? Of course.
Risky? To some, but in reality, this “all in for the Kingdom” mentality is the safest play. In fact, it’s the best way to ensure we make it to our destination called Heaven.
Brothers and sisters, I want to encourage you to go “all in” on Jesus and his way of life. I challenge you to choose to follow him and his teachings we find in the Bible. I implore you to refuse to dabble in Jesus, just to put your toes in the water, to casually try him, like he’s the new trend.
Why? So you can be radical? So you can say you are “on fire for the Lord”?
No, but because that’s the safest way to reach your desired destination—Heaven.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12, we are warned of the great harm deception can unleash when the truth is not embraced. We see the amplification of this spiritual principle all around us. Unfortunately, even greater deception is coming as the last days of this Age wind down.
The good news for believers is that we can insulate ourselves from falling for the deception that’s on the way. How? By loving the truth we have readily available to us, namely the Word of God. That revelation is echoed in 2 Peter chapter 2 as well, with the further warning that it’s possible to have escaped the pollutants of this world, only to fall prey to lies, because one has failed to fill their hearts and minds with the Absolute Truth. Sounds like Jesus’ warning in Matthew 12:43-45, right? There he told us not to be found spiritually empty, nor garnished with the wrong things, lest we make a room fit for a devil or two.
Bottom line is this: Our best defense against falling for the devil’s lies and falling away from the Lord in these last days is to go all in on the known Word of God (not conspiracy theories and fairytales).
Go “all in.”
What does that mean though?
In this context it means allowing the truth of the Gospels and the Epistles—the Word of God—to become our truth, our guide to life. The Word of God becomes our ultimate written authority and we allow it to guide what and how we think, speak and act.
In Isaiah (chapters 8 and 55) we are told not to follow conspiracies, but rather God’s Word, and we see that His Word collectively are His thoughts expressed. These thoughts need to become our mindset, our way of thinking about life.
How? According to Romans 12:1-2, by filtering our minds through the Scriptures daily.
So friends, going “all in” on Jesus is going all in on the plainly taught truth found in our Bibles. It’s a radical play in our day, but the only sure way to insulate ourselves from the barrage of lies that are hurled at us from all fronts, and it’s the safest way to reach the other side of the veil and hear “Well done.”
Greg Crum is the pastor at Calvary Temple Church in Lovely.