Through The Bible in a Year - June 16, 2026

"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." -Matthew 13:44

One sentence. No elaborate explanation. Just this: a man stumbles onto treasure hidden in a field, and in his joy, he sells everything he has to buy that field.

Jesus doesn't explain what the treasure is. He doesn't explain the ethics of covering it back up. He doesn't break down every detail.

He just wants you to feel the joy of claiming a treasure. We taste some of the goodness of the gospel when we resonate with the man's complete, total, joyful willingness to sacrifice everything he has to claim a treasure that is so much greater.

Everything else dims in comparison. Everything else becomes tradeable when you assess the far greater magnitude of the treasure.

I remember coming off the plane after a long international trip. I was tired, my bags were heavy, my back was hurting and I walked smack into a massive, cheering crowd. There were signs of welcome, banners, flags, and bagpipes. It was a welcome home celebration – but not for me.

The crowd was welcoming the return of an Honor Flight—war veterans in their senior years coming home from a tribute in our nation’s capital. Many were in wheelchairs, being wheeled through the gauntlet of cheering people, high-fiving as they went.

A commentator said: "These are veterans receiving the welcome now that they did not get the first time they came home."

But what I thought was this: there is a day coming when ten thousand times ten thousand angels will hail the Savior for the redemption of our souls. We will look around and will see our brothers and sisters in Christ who have endured the dangers and trials of this world enroute to their eternal home, where there are no more wheelchairs, or war, or tears, or pain—they will all be there, and we will  be there with them, all welcomed home.

That's just a taste of the treasure that is ours. And when you get just a taste of it, you're willing to give up everything else that will not endure, anything that will not last, and face all things necessary for Christ’s sake.

Respond: Whenever have you get just a taste of the kingdom of God – a moment of genuine forgiveness—given or received, a flash of inexplicable peace in the middle of chaos, a sense of God's presence so real it stops you cold with a joy that had no natural explanation – that taste is giving you a preview of heaven, but also giving you power for today.

This week, remember your tastes of the kingdom. Let them make you hungry for more. Let it make the things you're tempted to cling to seem less precious by comparison. The treasure is real. The kingdom is worth everything.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the tastes You've given me of Your kingdom—the moments of grace, the inexplicable peace, the joy that has no natural source. Those glimpses are enough to make everything else seem less precious by comparison. Help me live for the treasure, not the trinkets. When I'm tempted to cling to things that can't satisfy, remind me of the taste I've had of something infinitely better. Your kingdom is worth everything. Help me to believe this and live it. In Jesus’ name., Amen.