| I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m talking about God’s will for my life—including this wheelchair. When we embrace God’s will, everything changes.
It’s very much like the parable of the hidden treasure. The key word in today’s verse is bought. We must buy the field. When we think of the field God wants us to buy, we assume it’s attractive, something we would love to purchase anyway, a sun-drenched meadow dappled with wildflowers. It rarely is. The field—that thing God wants us to embrace—is usually bleak (like a sandlot with broken bottles and old tires scattered here and there). Of course, once we know that the scrubby field contains a treasure, the whole picture changes. The empty scrap of land suddenly brims with possibilities. Now we’re ready to sell everything to buy it. (Elisabeth Elliot)
In my case, selling everything meant giving up self-pity and resentment over a body that no longer worked. Selling everything meant tossing aside the questions and investing the hours I sit in this wheelchair. It meant using that time in God’s Word and in prayer (the pick and shovel needed to unearth the hidden treasure).
On the surface my field still looks bleak—the paralyzed legs, the hands that don’t work. Probably nobody else would want to buy this field. But to me, it’s beautiful because underneath the surface is the treasure, the priceless treasure of knowing Jesus better. I agree with Matthew 13:44: it’s the kingdom of heaven.
What does your field look like? What treasures have you found thus far? What investments do you need to make to uncover other finds?
Lord Jesus, as I survey the land I’ve bought at such a great price (I’ve given up my will, my preferences, and my pride), help me to see the treasures it contains. Help me to remember that more treasure lies buried, ready to be dug up. |
