Investing for the Future

By Dr. Matthew J. Birchmeier

          In our society, we are constantly peppered with ads for brokerage firms, retirement planning services, get-rich-in-real-estate schemes, precious metals investment services, easy mortgage loans, and on and on.  Lots of people want to help us reach that long-term goal of a secure retirement, a large nest egg, and a sizeable estate for the kids and grandkids.  Throughout history, that longing for more wealth than we could spend permeates the human psyche – just look at the greed so apparent in the gold rushes!

Now imagine for a minute if I told you about a buried treasure.  If I told you that there’s a thousand pounds of pure gold buried on a piece of property that’s for sale for $100,000 in your neighborhood, you would probably quickly seek out the owner of the property and buy it from him.  After all, a thousand pounds of pure gold is worth several million dollars.  The owner is asking $100,000 for the property, maybe because he doesn’t know that there’s gold there, or maybe because that’s all he wants to sell it for.  Of course you’d pay the asking price, maybe even more, because you know that you will be rewarded with a far greater return.  Similarly, if I told you about a stock that is selling for ten dollars per share today but would be selling for a thousand dollars a share next year, FOR SURE it’s going to $1000, because I had some convincing bulletproof analysis and in-depth research, you’d figure that this is not like buying a lottery ticket where you’re most likely to lose, this is a GUARANTEED PAYOFF – you’d buy up as many shares as you possibly could.  That would be like buying a lottery ticket that you already know is a winner!  You wouldn’t pass up such a deal

As recorded in the book of Matthew, Jesus Christ tells a parable about treasure.  When Jesus Christ told parables, he used simple analogies to relate great theological concepts.  We don’t take the parable literally every step or every word, but rather we look for the underlying meaning.  Throughout the 13^th chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus is speaking to the people in parables.  They all have great insight and instruction for us, but I would like to focus your attention on two related ones.  Matthew 13:44-46 reads:

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

So you see two pictures that make it very clear that what we are promised in Heaven is worth more – much, much more – than what we give up to get it.  I think this topic is extremely important to understanding Christian faith.  I invite you to walk with me as we analyze these three verses in detail and what they mean in the context of the rest of the Bible, and how we are to respond.  And importantly, we’ll also consider the question of whether this is an empty promise or the real thing! 

Let’s first think about this idea that Jesus Christ is trying to convey here.  He’s promising us treasure in Heaven.  He’s offering us something that is worth a LOT.  He’s even saying that it’s good to want this treasure.  Note that he didn’t say that this is a selfish man who bought the field, or a deceitful merchant that bought the pearl.  The man bought the field with great JOY - not guilt or shame.

You may note that the man who found the treasure buried in the field hid it again.  Did he feel guilty?  No, it wasn’t rightfully his at that point, so he put it back where he found it, but he didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity.  He went to sell his possessions so that he might buy the field, and get far more in return than what he paid for.  That was the source of his joy.  He was right to go buy the field, to gain that treasure, and he was joyous because of his newfound wealth.  And we can also note that the treasure buried in the field, although hidden from sight, had in no way lost its value.  It was still treasure.  Just because we may not see it at first glance doesn’t mean that it is worthless – like the pearl or the buried treasure, it could be of immense value.

And you’ll note that the man who bought the field, or who bought the pearl, received something that was very special.  He’s not saying that you can have something good, something that you’d like to have, like, “I think I’ll have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich now, because I’m hungry” but rather “Here’s something that is priceless.”  Jesus Christ is promising us something very special here.  What is he promising us?  In one word, Heaven.  He’s promising mercy for regular people, so that they will gain entry into heaven.  Throughout his life and his ministry, Jesus showed mercy to the most sinful and helpless people in that time: the tax collectors (Matthew 9:9-13), the adulteress woman (John 8:3-11), the paralyzed man (Matthew 9:1-3), and invited them into His heavenly kingdom (Matthew 22:8-10).  Jesus Christ sought out such as these, because he came to forgive sins.  He didn’t come to gain wealth or political power, to be waited on, or to be a high priest in the temple courts.  He came to show mercy, and to show himself as the sacrificial lamb by which our sins are forgiven.  So then, our treasure in Heaven is this joyous fact: that our sins are forgiven, that no matter what we have done, we know that our faith heals over this debt, our sinfulness, and therefore we can spend eternity in Heaven.

I’m sure we’ve all done many wrong things in life.  I know I have.  I spent most of my adult life as someone who did not follow Jesus Christ.  In fact, I was an atheist.  I’ve done many things in my life that I’m not proud of.  The beautiful part is that, if we have faith, Jesus Christ has forgiven them all.  That is a great treasure – not just because I can go to sleep at night feeling good about myself knowing that I am forgiven, but that Jesus Christ will welcome me into Heaven, as a spotless pearl in his crown.  In fact, He values me as a great treasure.  That’s why he sacrificed himself on the cross, in order to turn sinners into saints, cleansed by His blood.  This is the treasure that Jesus Christ speaks about when he told us that the kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure in a field, or a great pearl.  He used that analogy to show us the great value of our Heavenly treasure.

So let’s imagine for a moment if we all had to write down on paper everything we’d ever done to wrong someone.  Every harsh word.  Every deal that wasn’t quite a square deal.  Every bit of hatred.  Every selfish act.  Every time we treated others in a way that we wouldn’t want to be treated ourselves.  We’re probably all thinking, “That would be embarrassing.  What a list that would be!”  What Jesus Christ offers to us is to take that long list, the page upon page of our imperfections, our sins, and to tear them all up, to declare them forgiven, and on top of all that, to declare us righteous.  Not just that we get to have a second chance, not just a do-over.  But rather, that in God’s eyes, all of our sins are forgiven, thanks to the fact that he went to the cross, he paid the penalty for our sins.  All our guilt can be wiped away and we can be sure of that forgiveness.  We need that forgiveness in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven.  It’s worth more than all we have, far more.  That’s what the parable is showing us.  And this isn’t like our modern idea of getting in over our heads in debt, with credit cards, car payments, etc., and declaring bankruptcy.  Jesus is offering to take our debts and turning them into treasure.  You may say, why does Jesus Christ choose to be merciful to those who have faith in Him?  Why does that give us entrance into Heaven?  It may not make sense to us, to our sense of fairness.  Yet that is what he did over and over again, whether it was the adulteress woman, the thief on the cross (Luke 23:42-43), the friend who had betrayed him (John 21:15-19), or the tax collectors.  He told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  What an amazing picture of the reward we receive, and the forgiveness we receive, merely for having faith in Jesus Christ!

Now we look at the other side of the transactions that we read about in Matthew 13:44-46.  Both men, the one who found the buried treasure and the pearl merchant, went away and sold all they had.  Now Jesus Christ isn’t telling us to literally go and sell all we have and take the money to buy this treasure, as if our treasure in Heaven can be bought.  It can’t be bought.  It is our faith that heals us, just as we saw with the woman who touched Jesus Christ’s cloak and was healed of her bleeding.  Her faith healed her – the same with the thief on the cross. It is our faith that heals us of our sins.  Saint Paul writes to the believers in the city of Ephesus (2:8-9): “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

So if Christian salvation is by faith, what does it mean in the parable that the two men sold all they had?  Clearly they sold all they had in order to acquire something that was worth much more.  They didn’t hold any of their possessions back.  They didn’t sell a tenth of them, half of them, or even 90% of them.  They recognized the great treasure that was before them, and they set out to acquire it, selling all they had.  The richness of the treasure was so great that they did not hold anything back.  But remember, this parable is not saying that we buy treasure in Heaven; it is simply presenting a picture of the greatness of treasure in heaven compared to what we give up.  Let me repeat – we don’t earn or buy this treasure, but we should be willing to give away all we have to gain such great treasure.

So what does this treasure cost, if not money or possessions?  Jesus Christ commanded us to follow him, to do what he commands.  But we cannot be good merely of our own accord, it is by faith in Him that we are enabled to do what he commands.  What are these commands?  The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39).  Jesus Christ even commands us to love your enemies – as yourself (Matthew 5:44).  Know God, follow Him faithfully, be a willing recipient of the gift he has for us, the atonement for our sins offered by the blood of a sinless Savior who was crucified for us, these are his commands.  He tells us that our sins are forgiven, and that we are to go, and sin no more – to be a changed person, just as he told the woman caught in adultery.  In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:17), he writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has gone, the new has come.”  That may sound like a lot – this God is demanding our very lives from us!  He wants us to be different!  It isn’t inherently human to deny ourselves, to love our enemies, to be unselfish in all that we do.  It’s easier to be comfortable with ourselves as we are, to go along as we have been doing.  I was comfortable being an atheist.  But God commanded me to be a changed person.  And I can tell you, as sure as I live and breathe today, I am a changed person.  Why?  Remember the parable that Jesus told.  The treasure in the field is worth more than everything that the man owned.  The pearl is worth more than everything the merchant owned.  So Jesus Christ is demanding everything from us, but promising us EVEN MORE.  My treasure in Heaven is worth more than my old life.  I have a wonderful relationship with my earthly father; I wouldn’t give that up for any amount of money.  How much more I can rejoice in the relationship with my Heavenly Father – that is worth more than all my possessions.  That relationship culminates with being able to spend eternity in Heaven with the triune God: God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.   As St. Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Ephesus (2:6-7): “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  What a promise!  What a joy!

Please note here that this parable is not promising us earthly possessions in this life.  He clearly says, “The kingdom of Heaven” not that the Kingdom of Matt or the Kingdom of Amy will contain great riches.  In fact, Jesus Christ said that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24).  We don’t have any promise of wealth here on Earth; in fact, earthly riches may be a stumbling block if it obscures our view of Heaven.  Earthly riches are not heaven; Jesus Christ is talking about Heaven in these parables.  John Calvin wrote that these parables “instruct believers to prefer the kingdom of heaven to the whole world…that nothing may prevent them from obtaining so valuable a possession.  We are greatly in need of such a warning, for we are so captivated by the allurements of the world, that eternal life fades from our view…” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. 16).  We don’t have to give up our earthly possessions, but we do have to make sure that they don’t stand in our way.  We don’t have to try to buy our way into heaven, but rather we need to keep an eternal perspective.  Jesus Christ instructs us not to store up for ourselves treasure on Earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19) – clearly he was not instructing us toward the things of Earth but rather, the things of Heaven. When we are done with this life on Earth, there is a Heaven that awaits those that choose to follow Him, and it is there that this treasure awaits us.

Now I don’t claim to know what exactly Heaven looks like.  That’s OK, that’s not really what I’m focusing on here.  What we have here in front of us is the promise that what we’re giving up PALES in comparison to what we are receiving.  We’re giving up our earthly existence in exchange for a heavenly existence, where our sins, though scarlet, are made as white as snow, and we will rejoice for eternity with God himself.   Remember that analogy that I started with.  There’s a thousand pounds of gold buried on a piece of property in your neighborhood.  Are you going to go and seek it out for yourself?  Of course!  The reward is so much greater than the cost.

Now I admit that there may be earthly benefits to being a follower of Jesus Christ.  We may leave a destructive life of sin behind, such as alcoholism.  As the Holy Spirit guides our lives rather than our selfish ways guiding our lives, we may be more mature and happier with ourselves.  We may be less materialistic and be able to balance a budget, not over-spending on luxury items, so we don’t have to worry so much about money.  Sure, these benefits may come, but they are side benefits.  Jesus Christ never promised us a picture-perfect life.  We still all get sick and, one day, die.  We still have trials of many kinds – we see that in the book of James (1:2).  We will still have struggles with doing the right things – Saint Paul writes about that in his letter to the Romans (7:21-24).  Throughout the Bible, we see great pillars of the faith struggle during their lives, wondering where God is when things are going wrong: David was pursued by his enemies; Job lost all of his many earthly possessions and was stricken ill; Joseph was wrongly thrown into prison in Egypt; St. Paul was imprisoned, shipwrecked, and beaten; the early followers of Jesus Christ were often persecuted, even thrown to the lions in the Roman arena.  In fact, in Matthew 5, Jesus Christ says

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Imagine that – rejoicing in the face of persecution!   Look at it again: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” Jesus Christ is saying that all these troubles are nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Him and having this reward in Heaven.  So much so, that we can rejoice.  We can rejoice even now, knowing we have this heavenly treasure awaiting us, like an inheritance that is greater than any fortune we could ever amass on our own.  In this, we can rejoice.

You might think this sounds selfish, to be looking for a reward in Heaven.  In Matthew 6, Jesus Christ tells us: don’t worry about material things, things that will pass away, but rather, seek that treasure in HEAVEN, the kingdom of God.  He commands us to store up for ourselves treasure in Heaven.  And the passage above shows how to do that: to seek righteousness, to follow him, to endure whatever trials may come, knowing that our reward is great and we can rejoice.

I want to dwell briefly on this point of the difference between an inheritance and earnings.  What is an inheritance?  We often think of it in terms of something your parents or grandparents may leave for you after they die.  They write it in the will, “Jim will receive $10,000, the fine china, and the collection of Chia pets.”  But of course anyone can leave an inheritance for anyone they choose, regardless of family relationship.  So the person receiving the inheritance does not EARN that gift.  And the New Testament repeatedly refers to our eternal reward as an inheritance, but never once does it refer to our heavenly reward as our wages or our just due.  It is truly a gift.  If I bought a field, tilled the soil, planted seeds, weeded the field, watered the plants, harvested the crop, and sold the harvest, you would not say that I had received an inheritance or found some hidden treasure in that field.  You would say that I earned the money I received from selling the crops.  But that’s not the picture that Jesus Christ presents.  He is offering us an inheritance, a treasure that is worth more than our entire lives.  We do not buy it; we cannot earn it.  It’s worth far more than things we can buy or earn; rather, we receive it as an inheritance.

Now let’s consider again those verses in Matthew 13:44-45:

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

The people in the parable didn’t just see treasure and walk away from it, they responded.  Note how we are to respond.  Two things: one, to take hold of that treasure, that inheritance, that finest of pearls, the heavenly reward that comes from faith, and two, to be joyful.  Being joyful obviously follows from having that treasure.  We know we are forgiven of our sins, so we rejoice.  We know that we have treasure in Heaven, so we rejoice.

I know there are skeptics out there who doubt that there’s really this treasure available to us.  I know – I was one of those skeptics.  We see lots of people making false promises to us, from advertisers on TV to our friends who don’t stand by us.  Recall the examples that I started with – if I tell you there’s a thousand pounds of gold buried in a field or a stock that’s guaranteed to go up in value one hundred fold, you’d want to know: ARE YOU SURE?!?!?  How do you know?  And that’s an important question.  If there’s no treasure, I’m making a false promise.  If a stockbroker calls you with a hot stock tip, you want to know if he’s trying to dump a loser stock or if he really knows that the stock is about soar.  Politicians come along every election and tell us about how great things will be if they are elected, but their promises rarely come true.  So if someone promises us something, we want to know – are they trustable?  Can we believe in them?  Can we believe Jesus Christ when he tells us that there is treasure in Heaven for us?  Just as we would consider the credentials of a stockbroker, a politician, or a real estate agent, we can consider the credentials of Jesus Christ.  Jesus made many claims and promises about who he was and why people should follow him.  He also gave us evidence that we could have faith in him – he proved himself to be God in the flesh by rising from the dead!  I won’t go into the details here of the evidence or logic supporting the conclusion that Jesus really was God in the flesh; the interested reader is referred to articles that I previously wrote as well as others: “Was Jesus a Good Moral Teacher” by MJBirchmeier, and "The Historic Truth About The Crucifixion" By Rev. Esper Ajaj, Mar. 2004, and the “Resurrection Of Christ- Is It A Fact?” By Dr. R. Amari, Mar. 2004.  As with any promise of great riches, we should consider the source.  In this case, Jesus Christ offers us great treasure, not with motives of profit or power, but with motives of goodness and our own eternal perfection.

So we have here treasure, of great value.  Our sins can be forgiven, and we can inherit eternal life in Heaven, which is worth far more than our life here on Earth.  We all know that we would buy a stock that’s about to increase in value by a factor of a hundred.  We’d be willing to wait for the riches that we’re going to receive.  We’d buy a piece of property for $100,000 if we knew it held a treasure of a thousand pounds of gold.  The things of this world may distract us, if we let them.  However, I encourage you to take the long-term view and seek the eternal treasure offered to us by Jesus Christ.