Last night I heard a man on the radio talking about his corkscrew collection. He was passionate about corkscrews. He had been collecting for years and owned many thousands of them. He has them covering the walls of his house and travels regularly to North America and Europe to meet with other corkscrew enthusiasts. Despite all of this, his thirst had not yet been quenched. His collection is still not complete. He is still searching for that special corkscrew.

In Matthew 13:45-46, Jesus tells a story of a merchant who is looking to buy the finest pearls and as he searches, he finds a pearl that is incredibly stunning and valuable. It is so exquisite that he has to have it, no matter what. So, he sells everything that he owns just to have it. It seems that nothing else in life can compare to having this pearl. Jesus says that his kingdom is like that. It is so exquisite and stunning that nothing else in life even comes close. When the things that we value so much are compared to what Jesus has to offer, their importance quickly fades.

In the busyness of life where there are so many things fighting for our attention, the value of Jesus can sometimes be lost or at least hidden for a while. It might be a good time to go back and see why so many have given up so much to possess what Jesus has on offer. I wonder what things in our lives that take up so much of our attention will seem like nothing when compared to the kingdom of God.