When I began serving a church in Southeast Missouri, I encountered a man who put his arm around my shoulders and said, “I’m going to be your best friend.” My first, somewhat distrustful thought was, “We’ll have to see about that.” The fact was that this man was everything he said and more. He is one of the best church leaders I have ever had the privilege to serve alongside in ministry.
Besides being honest, humble, and a true friend to pastors, this man was an extremely successful businessman. One day over coffee, he asked me if we had any money to invest and proceeded to tell me about an investment opportunity my wife and I should not miss. We took our entire savings and invested it according to his advice. It ended up being the best investment we have ever made.
Jesus told two parables about investments that are infinitely better than the stock market:
“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 13:44-45).
The investment that Toni and I made carried a certain amount of risk, but the men in Jesus’ parables had no risk at all. They found the best, gave their all, and reaped the benefits.
What makes participation in the kingdom of God worth all we have? It’s not measured by money, power, and other trappings of earthly success, but it is worth it all. So, what is so special about God’s kingdom?
A verse that summarizes the issue in the Book of Isaiah was posed to King Ahaz. The king was committed to pursuing a plan of action that eliminated God from the equation. Like the parables Jesus told, Isaiah defined faith as full trust—giving your all to God’s plan.
“If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9).
The sixty-six chapters of Isaiah can be read through the lens of faith or a lack of faith—giving all or holding back in self-will. The tragic exile of the Jews from Judah occurred because the nation’s leaders chose self-will over God’s plan.
While I was driving through the South in the 1970s, only AM radio was available. I listened to a clear-channel broadcast from Del Rio, Texas. The preacher on late-night radio often said, “You can’t lose with the stuff I use.”
If Israel had fully trusted God in the days of King Ahaz, the results would have been different. They would have learned that we can’t lose when we allow God to be the King of our lives.
Half-Stepping with God
I learned the expression “half-stepping” from some of my friends’ street dialogue. James described a half-stepper with these words:
“For the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:7-8).
According to James, the benefit of going “all in” with God is receiving His wisdom:
“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you” (James 1:5).
God’s wisdom and much more are available to those who give their all to God’s kingdom, but what is His kingdom all about?
Dallas Willard describes the kingdom of God as “the effective reach of God’s power.” At one conference, he asked a woman on the front row if he could have her purse and look through it. The woman grabbed her purse and said, “No, you cannot.”
Willard explained how the woman’s purse was a part of her kingdom. It was under the effective reach of her power, as she demonstrated by grabbing it before he could touch it.
We all have personal kingdoms. There are areas of life that are under our power and control. Most of us will have a very difficult time surrendering everything to the Lord. Here is how I am working on giving all for the sake of living under the effective reach of God’s power.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9). When I pray that portion of the Lord’s Prayer, I expand the words and tell the Lord that I want Him to have more control over my life.
Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about the anxiety that comes from attempting to secure life through our own power. His solution for anxiety is this:
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
I frequently use this verse in prayer. I tell God that I understand “seeking His kingdom” as giving more of my personal power and self-will to Him. I think about the woman with the purse in Willard’s conference. I tell God that He can have things that previously I believed were out of reach.
This is seeking the kingdom of God. I’m not there yet, but I’m seeking. I hope you are doing the same thing.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this parable today on YouTube.
Real Voices 