February 12th, 2026
This week, I want to share with you what’s been on my heart about the value of the Kingdom of God. If you’re a Christian, your initial reaction will likely be (and should be): Of course, I value the kingdom of God. However, it’s possible to think and say we value His kingdom with actions that don’t agree. We will know how much we value something by how much we invest in it. How much do you truly value God’s presence? How much do you truly value His Word? The church? The sound of His voice? Our investment first must be with our time. We can’t say we value the Bible and spend only a few seconds a day reading a “verse of the day” on a Bible app. We can’t say we value the body of Christ and spend one Sunday morning a month at church. We can’t say we value God’s presence and spend no time in prayer and worship. We will invest in what we value.
This isn’t meant to be a judgment, but there are seasons we all need to be reminded of the importance of investing in that which carries life. There is nothing more valuable than the Kingdom of God. Jesus told two parables demonstrating this truth.
Matthew 13:44-46 says,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.”
In the parables, it wasn’t a hard decision for the man who found the treasure and the pearl. It was the only reasonable response! He’d found something worth more than anything he had, and the only way to get it was to give up everything else. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
When Jesus said not to “store up” treasure on earth, He was using an analogy they understood, but “storing up treasures” does not deal only with financial wealth. Mary, the mother of Jesus, “stored up in her heart” the truths revealed to her about Jesus (Luke 2:51). You can store up things of this world in your heart and mind. You can store up the things of this world in the friends you keep and the things you choose to invest your time in.
Alternatively, you can choose to give God your best – financially, and with your mental, physical, and spiritual energy.
However, the choice is only easy when you’ve encountered the truth of His worth. The man in the parables sold everything in joy because he knew what he’d found was better.
We see this contrasted in the story of a man who encountered Jesus.
Matthew 19:16-22 says,
‘Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked.
Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.’
This man was given the greatest invitation that has ever been extended, and he went away in sorrow, because he misunderstood the value of what he had been offered. He went away in sorrow because he was blind. Do you see the difference? The man in the parable saw the treasure for what it was. This young ruler devalued the gift of God and the invitation Jesus issued. He was not the first or the last to disregard the greatest invitation ever given. Luke 17:33 says,
“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”
This week, we encourage you to ask God for an encounter with Him that will reveal the value of the Kingdom in your heart. If you try to give or do more in religious zeal or your own human effort, it won’t change you, but if you truly experience the Kingdom, you will be able to give your life to Him in joy. Psalm 119:130 says “the unfolding of His Word gives light.” If you truly experience the power of His Word, you won’t devalue it. You will hunger to be in His Word because you will understand that in His Word is life, healing, light, and the power to deliver. If you truly see Him, high and lifted up, robed in majesty, with love in His eyes, it won’t be an effort to pray or read or go to church. Pouring out our lives for Him is easy when we understand that He poured out His life for us. Life, love, hope, joy, peace, and healing are found only in His presence. Nothing and no one compares to Him. He is worthy of it all!
Paul said in Philippians 3:8,
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
This isn’t meant to be a judgment, but there are seasons we all need to be reminded of the importance of investing in that which carries life. There is nothing more valuable than the Kingdom of God. Jesus told two parables demonstrating this truth.
Matthew 13:44-46 says,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.”
In the parables, it wasn’t a hard decision for the man who found the treasure and the pearl. It was the only reasonable response! He’d found something worth more than anything he had, and the only way to get it was to give up everything else. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
When Jesus said not to “store up” treasure on earth, He was using an analogy they understood, but “storing up treasures” does not deal only with financial wealth. Mary, the mother of Jesus, “stored up in her heart” the truths revealed to her about Jesus (Luke 2:51). You can store up things of this world in your heart and mind. You can store up the things of this world in the friends you keep and the things you choose to invest your time in.
Alternatively, you can choose to give God your best – financially, and with your mental, physical, and spiritual energy.
However, the choice is only easy when you’ve encountered the truth of His worth. The man in the parables sold everything in joy because he knew what he’d found was better.
We see this contrasted in the story of a man who encountered Jesus.
Matthew 19:16-22 says,
‘Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man asked.
Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.’
This man was given the greatest invitation that has ever been extended, and he went away in sorrow, because he misunderstood the value of what he had been offered. He went away in sorrow because he was blind. Do you see the difference? The man in the parable saw the treasure for what it was. This young ruler devalued the gift of God and the invitation Jesus issued. He was not the first or the last to disregard the greatest invitation ever given. Luke 17:33 says,
“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”
This week, we encourage you to ask God for an encounter with Him that will reveal the value of the Kingdom in your heart. If you try to give or do more in religious zeal or your own human effort, it won’t change you, but if you truly experience the Kingdom, you will be able to give your life to Him in joy. Psalm 119:130 says “the unfolding of His Word gives light.” If you truly experience the power of His Word, you won’t devalue it. You will hunger to be in His Word because you will understand that in His Word is life, healing, light, and the power to deliver. If you truly see Him, high and lifted up, robed in majesty, with love in His eyes, it won’t be an effort to pray or read or go to church. Pouring out our lives for Him is easy when we understand that He poured out His life for us. Life, love, hope, joy, peace, and healing are found only in His presence. Nothing and no one compares to Him. He is worthy of it all!
Paul said in Philippians 3:8,
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
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