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| The Value of the Gospel |
“Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like treasure
hidden in a field, which when a man has found it, he hides it, and for the joy
of it goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.”
- (Mat 13:44)
Joshua Bell is one of the finest violinists in the world. On January 12, 2007 he
played in a Washington D.C. subway station for 45 minutes some of the most
difficult pieces of music possible to play on such an instrument. His 1713
Stradivarius violin reportedly cost $3.5 million.
In this span of 45 minutes he collected $32.17 - a fraction of what a single
decent ticket would cost at one of his concerts. During this time his music must
have reached thousands of ears... yet all of those people hurriedly passed by,
unaware and uncaring. They had no idea what lay in front of their eyes. If the
people that were there knew the value of this man, his talent, and his
instrument, you can be sure that subway station would have been packed like a
can of sardines. Instead, when he finished there was not even one pair of hands
heard clapping.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like this - many people hear it, and very few people
know its true value. Our Lord Jesus is like the violin player and the gospel is
like the violin. If men had the FAINTEST idea of what lie before them in Christ
and in scripture there would be not one speck of dust on any bible. There'd be
no hands left unfolded, no one left unprayed for, and no ears left without
hearing the good news. The gospel is like a pearl of great price and hidden
treasure. If the world knew of its true value, it would have everybody’s
attention and multitudes would flock to it. Instead it’s left with zero
attention from most, little attention from many, and much attention from few.
Jesus tells the story of a man who sells everything to buy a field containing hidden treasure. Do you really know the value of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, of salvation, of the gospel? A Christian is one who loves the Lord more than anything. He knows the true value of the Lord, and lives a life that shows it. He is consumed with thoughts of his treasure and will do anything to get closer to his Lord. Strive to be this type of Christian. We must live as if nothing else matters, as if our lives depend on it, as if Jesus is the King of Kings… because nothing else really matters, because our lives do depend on it, and because He is the King of Kings.
Here’s a question; why did nobody value the beautiful sound that was coming from
this violin? The reason is that this fellow was playing in a subway station and not on a
fancy stage. By nature, man doesn’t value words that come from people without
PHD’s. Like the people in the subway station, they disregard the value of the
message because it comes from a simple person in an ordinary place. This is the
same reason why Jesus said, “A prophet is not accepted in his own country” (Mat
13:57). A lesson that we can take from this is to be open to hear God’s word no
matter where it comes from. If God can speak through a donkey (Num 22:28), He
can speak through anybody. Why should we value the words of the Holy Spirit less
when they come through an ordinary person than when they come through a learned
pastor? Cherish and keep your eye out for the little golden nuggets of wisdom
that God gives you through ordinary people in ordinary circumstances.
“I can tell you the cost of a bible in two words, but in a lifetime
I cannot express value of its contents” ~ Anonymous
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