Words of Grace 7/8

By Pastor Mahlon Nevel

The Lord Jesus quite often taught his disciples through parables. Two of these parables are about the finding of expensive things.

In the first parable, a man finds treasure hidden in a field. For joy he went and sold all that he had, and bought the field. (Matthew 13: 44)

The next parable is about a man who was a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finally found a pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had to buy it. (v. 45, 46)

There are some who think that both the treasure and the pearl refer to salvation, and the each of the men sold all that they had to buy their salvation. But salvation cannot be bought.

Jesus himself paid the price for our salvation. We are redeemed by his precious blood. Jesus paid it all.
Tom Wallace tells the story about a man who traveled overseas and found a large diamond for sale. He sold all his possessions and borrowed to the limit to buy the huge diamond. His whole life was wrapped up in its value.

As he walked on to the deck of the ship on his return voyage, he tried to impress his friends. He got to tossing the diamond into the air and catching it as it come down. But when he tried to toss it higher, a huge wave caused the ship to lurch. The diamond fell just outside the rail and into the ocean. It was gone forever.

“Thousands are doing the same thing, Wallace writes, “throwing their lives away for things.”