Giving all, Gaining All

Matthew 13:44-46

"What are you crazy?!" His neighbors must have said, "Why did you just sell everything you had?" The man just smiled; he could not explain his actions, not yet at least: not until he'd bought the field and not until the treasure was his.

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 the field" (Matthew 13:44).

I love that he sold his possessions with joy. He was joyful because he knew how much he was going to gain by selling his possessions. I want the same joy that the man who found the treasure had. I want the same confidence that when I sell all, when I give all--I'm gaining to much more than I could ever give.

The 21st martyr Jim Elliot, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."