⁴⁴ “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. ⁴⁵ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. ⁴⁶ When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!  (Matthew 13.44-46 NLT)

Here is a quick thought to follow up on the sermon about worship this past weekend.  Worship (acknowledging God’s worth) is done with a certain posture.  We often think of kneeling as that posture most associated with humility, reverence and awe.  There is also a mindset that goes with worship.  A willingness to give away everything for something that is freely given.  I believe that is what Jesus was talking when he told the parable above.  Just like the woman who anointed Jesus at the dinner hosted by Simon the leper, we too are called to be willing to pour out our lives.

Worship is the willingness to give away everything                                                                 for something that is freely given to you.

Here are some things we need to give away in order to worship (acknowledge God’s worth):

• Give away your pride…
• Give away your shame and guilt…
• Give away your need for control…
• Give away your time…
• Give away your need for revenge…
• Give away your bitterness…

And the list could go on, but you get the point.  We cannot hold onto these things listed above (just to list a few) and acknowledge God’s worth at the same time.  It’s like picking up a large rock with both hands.  You have to put it down to pick up anything else.

In Exodus 20, God spoke to the Israelites through the 10 commandments and said “⁴ You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. ⁵ You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”  Anything we are not willing to give away is an idol that is keeping us from fully worshiping God and experiencing the impact (free gift of grace) that comes as a result.  Grace is free and how we receive it is by what Jesus describes as “losing” ourself in order to gain life.

So, what are you holding onto? What is stopping you from fully being present with God?  What do you need to lay down in order to take up acknowledging God’s worth and receiving God’s grace?  No better time than now to do just that.