The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.”

—Matthew 13:44–46

We spend all our lives seeking to acquire things. Most of us scatter our wealth of time, money, and effort with little thought to what we’re purchasing, but there is always an exchange.

Many of us have at least one thing we’ve been obsessively trying to purchase our whole lives, whether it’s relationship, success, ease, escape, or wealth. Sometimes the thing we want is even a good thing, but what we know—because the Lord tells us—is that none of those things are worth anything compared to the kingdom of God.

Perhaps we’ve finally been able to acquire some of those things we’ve sought but found they still don’t fill the deepest longings of our souls—the ache we thought they’d quench is still there.

We realize that we’ve worked long and diligently to buy the food that perishes (John 6:27–29).

Let us, instead, be willing to sell all our earthly trappings and trimmings—the worries and cares, the false hope of riches (Mark 4:19), our pride in ourselves, and the things our eyes desire and our hearts long for (1 John 2:15–17)—in our purchase of the one treasure worth more than all else.

Where are we placing our resources—both tangible and intangible? Have we yet committed all to the kingdom and heaven or are we still feverishly collecting trinkets and baubles?

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