“I want to give my all to God, but I am scared of what He might ask me to do” has been a recurring statement among people within the church. This thought has also crossed my mind and still does so with some frequency. As I was reading this week, I was enlightened and reminded of something revolutionary: our hesitancy to commit to Jesus is rooted in a misunderstanding of His Gospel and his Kingdom. Will you unpack this with me?
There are two stories in the Bible that Jesus used as starting points for describing the Kingdom of Heaven (or “Kingdom of God”).
Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like where something of extreme value is concealed in a field. Someone discovers it, and quickly covers it up again. Overflowing with joyous excitement he pulls together everything he has, sells it all and buys the field.” (Matt. 13:44)
Jesus also said, “What the Kingdom of Heaven is like is illustrated by a businessman who is on the lookout for beautiful pearls. He finds an incredible value in one pearl. So he sells everything he owns and buys it.” (Matt 13:45-46)
Is this how we feel about being a part of his Kingdom? Or we might say, “Is this how we feel about being a Christian?” After reading this, I was very much convicted and began to think a lot about this concept. In both the stories, we see the Joy, the Excitement, the Preciousness, and the Opportunity. in being a part of the Kingdom of God. This however is such a contrast from our initial statement about giving our all. That statement is filled with Fear, Hesitancy and Worry! We are terrified of surrender…
What is the difference then? Why don’t our thoughts always line up with how Jesus said they should? Why are we so afraid of the “cost of discipleship”? The book I was reading addresses that. Here is something the author says:
Do you think the businessman was sweating over its cost? An obviously ridiculous question! What about the one who found the treasure in the field - perhaps crude oil or gold? No. Of course not. The only thing these people were sweating about was whether or not they would “get the deal.”… No one goes sadly, reluctantly into discipleship with Jesus…No one goes in bemoaning the cost. They understand the opportunity.1
The reality is that we misunderstand the cost of discipleship. It is not a moaning and groaning kind of thing. “Oh how I hate that I must give up everything I own and all my dreams and passions and goals, but I suppose that is what I must do. How terrible it is!” The purpose of counting the cost is to give us clarity! The fact is, yes, God may us to give up all those things, but those passages show us how miniscule those things are in comparison. Jesus is trying to show us the joy in being a part of His kingdom, in following Him, in being a Christian.
A certain passage is often used to show us the cost of discipleship and how “painful” it is. Luke 14 talks about how we must hate our Mother and Father and family and take up our cross and all we own in this painful decision to be a disciple. The point of this passage is not, however, to show how painful it is to be a part of God’s Kingdom (although it will be painful at times). The point of this passage is this: to think of these things as more valuable than a relationship with God is to misunderstand the Kingdom of God.2 There is such joy, excitement, and opportunity, even amongst some of the painful times.
If we don’t understand the value in the field, in the pearl and in the Kingdom, we will never be able to “count the cost”. We won’t have the “Clarity about the Bargain3” or the clarity about God’s invitation.
It is my prayer that instead of saying “I want to but…”, I will say, “Oh how precious the Kingdom and the relationship! How could I miss this? I would give everything for it!”
- Lord, give me clarity! Help me to see how valuable the pearl is. Help me to understand how great a relationship with you is!
May God help you to see more clearly!
- Josh
1 Willard, Dallas. 1997. The Divine Conspiracy. Pg 292
2 Willard, Dallas. 1997. The Divine Conspiracy. Pg 293
3 Willard, Dallas. 1997. The Divine Conspiracy. Pg 292
