“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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46 (New International Version, NIV)

These scriptures reveal to us the importance of obtaining God’s kingdom. Yes, Jesus paid the price to give us the kingdom, yet we must pay the price to follow Him. This means we give up our wills for Christ’s will. We lay down our wants for His wants. And we let go of our ways to follow Jesus’ way.

What does this mean in practical terms? It means we deny what we desire in order to pursue what the Bible says is worth pursuing. It means setting aside our own comfort to do what He tells us to do. It means we might be fasting in order to subdue our flesh when we really want to eat. It could mean praying when we are tired. It may mean giving when our funds are low. It means different things in different situations, but the bottom line is that we follow Jesus’ example when He said, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

Christ’s kingdom is priceless, so as we pay the price to follow Jesus we gain the riches of heaven. This includes righteousness, peace, joy, prosperity, fulfillment and more. No matter what we give up for the kingdom, we end up getting back so much more than we paid. This is because God is the greatest Giver. He gave His all, so let’s give Him our all. Jesus is the treasure we are seeking. When we receive Jesus, we have received everything we need.