“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45–46
Having been a hopeless entrepreneur all my life, I have always looked for ways to stay busy and to make a little money while I’m at it. From taking on an afternoon newspaper route in the third grade until now, work has been my constant friend.
In college, I decided not to take a traditional job like washing dishes in the dining commons, but to have some walking-around cash in my pocket, I needed to do something. So I looked for other ways of creating a dependable revenue stream. If you had been a Taylor University student in the late ‘60s, you would have been able to visit room 209 in Wengatz Hall and buy custom-made, pinpoint cotton oxford cloth dress shirts, flowers for special dates, or a diamond ring if those dates turned out well. One of the interesting things I noticed about selling these things from my college room was the issue of pricing them. When a college man was going to buy a shirt for himself, he was careful about how much this was going to cost him. And when he was shopping for a corsage, he usually held back on being too exorbitant.
But when he had decided on a lifelong companion and was going to slip a dia- mond on her hand, he went crazy. He lost all sense of what he could afford—on what would be reasonable to spend—given his current net worth. He should have known better, but he didn’t—which, of course, pleased the diamond merchant in room 209.
Love is a wonderful thing.
Every time I think about the guy in the Bible who completely liquidated his portfolio to buy the treasure in the field or the pearl of great price, I remember my college friends who were so unbelievably committed to their girlfriends that they were will- ing to go for broke. These intelligent men were so in love that they were completely reckless with their hard-earned money.
The Gospels are filled with stories about people who, when confronted with the truth of the Savior, did what no one expected them to do. Some left their careers to follow Jesus. Some faced the ridicule of their friends. And some even gave their lives. This sounds even more radical than a broke college senior going for the one-carat brilliant round-cut, doesn’t it?
The words that fill the pages of this Book may threaten your security. If taken seriously, they could even shake the solidarity of your plans for the future. These words may have serious implications regarding your job, your habits, your friends, or your net worth.
There’s one thing I forgot to mention. Perhaps the happiest moments I can remem- ber from my college career—not counting midnight trips to the Pizza King in Hartford City—were the faces of the men when I delivered their flawless diamonds to them. Even though they would be paying the bill for years to come, they were absolutely delighted with the wisdom of their investment.
Jesus calls us to embark on the same dangerous adventure—to be irrevocably captivated with following Him. The payoff is a sure thing. What other explanation could there possibly be for countless others who have walked this path before us?
The full-on experience of God’s grace is priceless.