9. Matthew 13:44-46: Jesus on money teaches us to give our best for the best

This is the ninth post that I will be undertaking over the next 2 weeks in which we will be looking at everything (pretty much!) Jesus said about money in the gospels. In order to do this I will be putting up two posts each day. This is coinciding with a 2-week preaching series that we going through at Community Church Putney- Jesus On Giving.

What is the most important thing in your life? Does it have a price-tag? Would you sell it? What is your treasure?

Jesus on money reveals that what we spend our lives and money on reveals the passion, the ‘treasure’, of our hearts. 

A report in Christianity Today In May 2013 is telling; it revealed that only 10-25 percent of the families in the church (in the U.S) tithe (give 10% of their income to the work of their church). These are distributed almost equally across all income brackets, and carry an outsized importance in a congregation by providing 50-80 percent of the funding.

For Christians, God is to be our greatest treasure, for whom we are to have the radical dedication of one who sells everything for a priceless treasure. 

Jesus taught,

“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)

As part of this ‘Jesus on Money’ series, I taught on this text; generosity is a part of the kingdom and so ‘generosity is treasure to be pursued’. You can listen to that at: http://sermons.communitychurchputney.com/20150705_Matt_Beaney.mp3 

Jesus on money teaches us that we all spend or invest our money on what is most important to us. If God, His people and His purposes are most important to us, let’s ensure that this is reflected in our use of real money- use of money is a test of your treasure! Let’s give our best for the best!

Take a moment to ask God to search you: What does your use of money reveal your treasure to be? Are you giving your best for the best? Do you see generosity as treasure to be pursued?