

Jesus once described the Kingdom of Heaven as a “pearl of great price”.
He told the story of a man who sold everything he had in order to obtain this beautiful, unrivalled treasure.
Jesus knew that because of our finite human brains, we struggle to grasp how priceless this gift of everlasting life really is; this eternal glory that Jesus has promised to share with us. Our inheritance in Christ is so wonderful, it’s completely beyond human comprehension, according to St. Paul.
In Psalm 31:11 and Matthew 5:5 we are told that we will inherit the whole earth, and elsewhere that we will inherit a heavenly country (Hebrews 11:6). We will live forever in a place where there is never any sorrow, illness, crying or pain. That sounds pretty awesome, don’t you think? It goes way beyond the privileges of any kingdom on the earth today! Surely this is indeed a great prize, worth sacrificing everything for.
Jesus wanted us to seek the Kingdom with our whole hearts, recognising its all-surpassing greatness.
But there’s another angle to all of this too! If the Kingdom of God is defined by what we are prepared to pay for it, then think for a moment about the sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us.
He surrendered everything, even his own life, to purchase our souls. And what price can anyone pay that is greater than their own life?
Jesus gave up everything for his pearls of great price- and that is you and me, dear brothers and sisters in Christ- we are his jewels, each one uniquely valuable with an individual cut. We have a price tag on us that’s higher than any other price tag in the whole of history! We were purchased with the blood of the King of Kings, our beautiful Saviour.
God often refers to his people as jewels, demonstrating how he dearly loves and treasures them.
So, it doesn’t matter whether the rest of the world acknowledges your value- you are exactly who God says you are, his special treasure. YOU’RE the reason he died and YOU’RE his reward for suffering the cross… YOU are a pearl of great price!