The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13: 44-46, ESV)
What would you pay for a set of T100-Titleist irons? Eight irons at $186.00 per club would cost $1,488.00. Sound reasonable? No doubt, your answer will depend on whether you are a Titleist guy.
What would you pay for older models from Titleist? Let’s say you are offered a set of Titleist 681-T’s that arrived on the market roughly twenty years ago. What would they be worth to you?
Or better still, what would you pay for the Titleist irons (i.e., 681-T’s) with which Tiger won the Tiger Slam? As you may know, the Tiger Slam consists of all four majors that Tiger won from 2001 to 2002. Recently, an American paid $5.15 million for them. You might ask why anyone would pay that kind of money for a set of irons.
The shoot-from-the-hip answer is that those irons are a one-of-a-kind set. Of course, spending significant money on sports memorabilia is nothing new. In 2019, a jersey worn by Babe Ruth sold for $5.64 million.
The deeper answer to why anyone would spend inordinate amounts of money for these items is they consider them to have immense value.
What, if anything, does this have to do with walking with Jesus Christ? In a word: Everything! When all is said and done, it comes down to our valuation of Christ. What is he worth? What is our estimation of his worth? These are two related but separate questions.
The Father has spoken and tells us that Jesus Christ and his kingdom are like a “pearl of great price” and “a hidden treasure.” Both of these images— a pearl and a treasure—are intended to evoke a sense of immense and inestimable worth. The pressing question to us is this: What is Jesus Christ worth to you?
The word “worth” has an interesting origin and development. The older English word “worth” formed the word “worth-ship!” Over time, “worth-ship” became “worship.” In other words, Christian worship, at its center, is a matter of recognizing and acknowledging Christ’s “worth.”
We all value a wide range of people, places, and things. We also have a hierarchy within our value systems. We value our spouses and children more than we value our close friends. We value our close friends more than we value our golf clubs. The question that confronts everyone is: What or who is at the top of your value system?
Whatever we value most becomes the center of our existence. Whatever we value most, we love the most. Saint Augustine had more than a few things to say about properly-aligned loves. He also had quite a bit to say about “misdirected loves.”
We have misdirected loves when we begin to value persons, places, or things out of their proper order. For example, when we love golf more than we do our family, that love is misdirected.
Our lives only begin to experience a growing level of flourishing and deep satisfaction when we consider Jesus of incalculable worth. Then, and only then, do our other loves find their rightful place. We worship him because, in our hearts and by his grace, we have realized his worth.
Prayer – Jesus, by your Spirit, open our eyes to discover more and more of your worth. Aid us in prioritizing our loves.