All That I Am and All That I Have

January 28, 2016

All That I Am and All That I Have

When he discovered a pearl of great value,

he sold everything he owned and bought it!

Matthew 13:46

What does our life look like when we are participating with Him as He works in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases him? (Philippians 2:13) For me, I believe when I embrace Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:46 as my own, Jesus will become visible in my mortal flesh: “I have discovered a pearl of great value, and I sold everything I owned and bought it!”

Why do I put myself into Jesus’ parable? I believe when Jesus gave that parable, the merchant represented two different identities. The first was a representation of God, who gave everything, even His only begotten son, for the redemption of human kind. Secondly, the merchant represents those who, after saying yes to God’s sheer grace, sell off all that they are and all that they have for the Kingdom of God.

What does it mean to sell everything for the pearl of great value? I think of the words I spoke to Cheryl as I put a ring on her finger at our wedding: “I give you this ring as a sign of my vow, and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” In my wedding, those words were my public commitment to love Cheryl as Christ loves his church. When I make that statement to God, I surrender my rights to my own life and submit myself to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus stated “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give (you) a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). My purchase, by surrendering my life to Jesus, of the pearl of great value opens my heart to receive Jesus’ rich and satisfying life. My heart’s desire is to risk everything on this Gospel of Grace.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.