What is Living Forever Worth to You?

Jesus said, "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."

In ancient days, sometimes a landowner would put his gold in a chest and bury it in his field to keep it safe. If the man died suddenly and no one knew where the chest was it would be forgotten. The man in this story had come across someone's buried gold. He went home and sold everything in order to buy the field.

What must his family and neighbors thought when he gave up all he had to buy this plot of land? Perhaps his wife was angry. Perhaps he had to borrow from moneylenders. We don't know, but we do know why he did it. He knew he would own much more than all he had once he owned the land.

Having the gift of eternal life is like this, Jesus said. It is so important, so valuable, that we should be willing to give everything to have it.

I became a Christian during my first marriage. My husband was angry about it. He told me I should love him more than I loved God. He said our marriage should come first. His mother came over to talk with me about it. She asked, "Why are you willing to risk your marriage over religion? Why do you want to be a Christian?" I was a bit stunned and answered, "Eternal life." I didn't know God very well then, but I did know I wanted to live forever. I didn't want only one short life on this planet and I wanted my children to live forever also. It was worth everything to me then and it still is now.