Discipleship's Value

44"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.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
--Matthew 13:44-46

In Jesus’ time, if someone was known as a disciple of someone it meant they were a student of that person’s philosophy or trade. What was Jesus’ philosophy? What principles did Jesus’ life exemplify? Life lived under the rule of the kingdom of heaven. This is the life Jesus invites us to. People who seek this life and find it, dis-cover that they have found something more valuable than anything they have known before. It makes that big a difference.

In order to experience discipleship’s value, we need to give ourselves totally to following Jesus. Paul, one of the prominent writers of the New Testament, discovered the value of discipleship. He told them that before he became a disciple of Jesus he was a Jew of great status. He could trace his bloodline back to the great Abra-ham. He was an important leader in the church. He kept Moses' law flawlessly. He distinguished himself so much as a Jew that he was given the task of protecting their faith from people who were following Jesus. He had done very well for himself. He thought he had quite a life. That is, until he had a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. He said that he counts all that he had before as garbage when he compared that with the surpassing value of knowing Jesus. All that he had before he was happy to lose in order to have the life he now had as a disciple of Christ (Philippians 3.4b-14).

Jesus offers us life. Not life as the world offers it, where security is found in status, power, and possessions. Jesus offers us a life of hope. We always have a place in the kingdom of heaven. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). Life can come at us with all it has got. Our future is secure. Jesus offers us life with meaning and purpose. We have a mission to live out as Jesus’ disciples—proclaim His love and live out His love in the world. It’s a life, if we are willing to give ourselves totally to it, that Jesus assures us we will find more valuable than anything we’ve ever experienced before.