The man in Jesus’ parable who sold all his possessions to buy a field did so with joy because he found a treasure that was worth a lot more than the sum total of his possessions. He bought the field because it was a great deal, a bargain he couldn’t pass up. It’s the promise that there’s a treasure in the field you’re buying that far outweighs the sacrifice you’ve made to get it!
Jesus is encouraging us to think about life with God (the kingdom of God) this way. He is encouraging us to do a cost/benefit analysis on the Kingdom and make a wise decision. He is encouraging us to think pragmatically and economically about it! It’s just that he is also encouraging us to think more deeply and more broadly about what is actually valuable and worth having.
Seen in this light, the kind of sacrifice Jesus calls us to is not something that leaves us with nothing, it’s a sacrifice that becomes an investment, like planting crops that eventually yield a hundredfold return. He’s calling us to invest! He tells us to sell everything and “buy” the Kingdom—because it’s actually worth far more than what we currently have! As Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
This is the integrating principle of an investment strategy that actually yields what we might call “the good life.” So the stuff we sacrifice is not actually worth as much as what we gain when we go “all in” for the kingdom. “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed,” as the Apostle Paul said to the Romans.
So discipleship isn’t all about sacrifice. Initially it feels that way, because we give up all we have to gain the Kingdom, but in the end the life we receive is worth far more than any sacrifice we made. Going “all in” for the Kingdom of God is a fantastic deal. There is no need to diversify your portfolio. Discipleship to Jesus, in other words, is the best investment opportunity any human being ever gets.
