Lenten Devotional // Day 16

March 19th, 2022
by Mike DePope

Saturday, March 19
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN by Samantha Yoder

Matthew 13:44-52
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away. That’s the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.
“Have you understood all these things?”Jesus asked.
They said to him, “Yes.”
Then he said to them, “Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.”

Reflection
I have two nieces who are obsessed with the toys called “Mini Brands”. They are miniature brands of toys or food, such as a mini tub of butter, or box of oreos. You purchase a ball that has five items in it. There is a whole list of what you can collect and there are common and rare ones. To me it seems like a glorified treasure hunt, having to buy multiple of these mini-brand balls to see if the “one” they wanted was located inside. You could buy multiple of them and end up finding duplicates of something. My nieces have multiple of many of the items.

My nieces invested a lot into these toys to find joy! When they explained to me what the goal was, their faces lit up expressing the rarity of some of the objects. There is a large amount of entertainment for them when seeking for the rare objects they hope to find. It is the excitement of having no idea what is inside and ripping it open to see what prize they have received.

I couldn’t help but think of this while reading through these passages in Matthew. We are constantly seeking Jesus in many hidden places. We search through many different areas trying to find the Kingdom of Heaven. We do not always know where we will find Jesus but we keep seeking after Him. We want to be in a close relationship with Jesus and we will give up what we must in order to find the Kingdom of Heaven. I pray we continuously have the same joy my nieces do when searching for the rare toys. That we always view God’s love as a rare object in the world that we want to find every day!

Question for Contemplation
How do you actively choose to seek the Kingdom of Heaven each day?

Prayer
Lord, We are grateful that we are able to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank you for always showing it to us. I pray that we are able to always seek after You and remember the joy that comes with being in the Kingdom. We are thankful for You. We love you. Amen.