BUY THE FIELD
September 2025
Matthew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
I’ve been thinking about this parable for a minute. It’s in a cluster of parables about the hiddenness of the kingdom of heaven. Each one is a gem full of insight, and collectively they are a treasure cove. Most recently, I started thinking about this parable in tandem with Proverbs 25:1, It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
I can be treasure-focused. I want the answered prayer, I want the gifts, I want the increase, I want to be fully mature right now. The thing about all of those wonderful, needed treasures is that they come with a field. And the field represents (at least from this one perspective) searching things out. Treasures (whatever they may be for us in this season) come with time. Not time in itself. Rather, the time we take to search out, walk out, dig out, what is hidden in the kingdom of heaven. It is a patient, enduring, grab-hold-and-don’t-let-go type of glory. But glory indeed.
To buy the field is a guarantee to take hold of the hidden treasure—maybe treasures. To try and only buy the treasure (I’m not even sure that’s possible in the kingdom) is to miss the setting of the treasure, the very thing upon which the treasure is built.
Buy the field.
The following are some applications/examples of this parable and proverb that I have thought of. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you more of what it looks like in your life.
Let’s start with two big picture perspectives and then on to more personal ones.
- Big Picture 1 = We are the treasure in the field. Jesus found us and covered us. He didn’t say, “The sin is too great.” No! He went, in joy, and sold everything he had—died on a cross that is—to purchase us. He is our redeemer, and we are his beloved. He bought the field.
- Big Picture 2 = Jesus is the treasure! 100%. The field? Discipleship and/or becoming like him. It’s costly and narrow, but our lives as followers of Christ are built on the Cornerstone. It’s our glory to leave everything behind and search out the field. And, as we do, we are preparing for his return, like a bride for a wedding.
- Relationships = A spouse may be the treasure, but we buy the field they are in. The field isn’t perfect, and there will be lots to dig through. That is a two-way street by the way. A spouse is committing to the same covenant we are. But the treasure is worth it. In joy, we take it all, work through it. It’s a glorious, beautiful thing. The same idea applies to any true friendship.
- Spirit Life = Seek the gifts. They are a treasure. The field they come in, however, is maturity and the fruit of the Spirit, and perseverance that produces character. It’s our glory, friends, to search out the gifts and how to use them rightly. Buy the field.
- Dreams/Desires = What’s the deepest desire of your heart? What is the field it’s hidden in? Buy that field and search it out. It is a joyful endeavor. It is a glorious pursuit.
Solomon says it’s our glory to search out a thing. Jesus says in his joy, the man sells everything he has to buy the field. So, the wisest man and wisdom itself are telling us to go all-in for the treasure. How do we say no?
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